


Freedom and Harmony

by Little_vesuvius



Series: The Protector Saga [1]
Category: Bleach, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Actually None of the Arcobaleno Can, BAMF Hirako Shinji, BAMF Skies, BAMF Skull (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), BAMF Urahara Kisuke, Because Kisuke taught Skull, Because Mare Rings, But Especially Not Reborn, Byakuran is actually a Product of Circumstance, Explanations for the Tri-Ni-Sette, Flames of Night are Accessible to Hollows, HCs for Urahara Kisuke being Weird, Hollows have Eldritch Power because They're Supposed to be Terrifying, I've Seen Too Many Skull-Is-Someone but Never Skull-Is-Shuuhei, Involves Togabito, Kawahira Messed Up, Kisuke is a Sky, Kisuke's A Miracle-Worker, Luce Done Screwed Up, Luce is Reborn's True Sky, Make Shinji a Vizard and it gets So much Worse, Making the Mare Rings was a Mistake, Making the Tri-Ni-Sette was Also a Mistake, Mending Benihime, Multi, Only It Goes Wrong, Reborn Can't Deal With This, Shuuhei got Awesome Training from Equally Terrifying People, Skull Is Terrifying, Skull is Shuuhei, Skull is Terrifying and has Onmitsukudou Training, Skull is a Polarized Invert Maelstrom, Skull is a Shinigami, So Did Kisuke TBH, So Here is why Skull is Shuuhei, So did Kawahira, So is Checker Face, So is Shinji, Sousuke Aizen is a Monster, Terrifying Vizards, There's a Reason Shinji and Kisuke are Terrifying Even as Just Shinigami, Time Travel Fix-It, Time Travel to the 1970s, Unfortunately for Him He now has a Powerful Enemy, Warning: Shuuhei doesn't like Luce, Whoops the Assassin Time Traveled, at all, because She deserved better, because why not, the Vindice are Scary, which will be explained
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2020-06-28 09:57:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19809922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_vesuvius/pseuds/Little_vesuvius
Summary: Skull de Mort's past is a mystery even to him.At least until the day everything changes.Time Travel Fix-It, but with a Twist!  (It may not have fixed what you wanted it to, Skull.  But it will fix some things.)(I was tired, and inspired by horror stories, to write this.  I was fascinated with Ichigo's friends' loyalty to him and through the Winter War, and then I realized Skull and Shuuhei have some similar design choices.  So here I am.)





	1. Remembrance

**Author's Note:**

> So, I had a few ideas rattling around in my head about 7 months ago, and I stumbled across a brilliant Bleach crossover idea -- one in which Skull de Mort is actually Hisagi Shuuhei. Naturally, I had to write it, and then I realized time travel had to be involved.
> 
> So, here we are. Mare Rings, desperation, time travel, and a lot of other Bad Shit going down leads to Skull discovering he's a lot stronger than he thinks he is. And also, leads to a certain Checker Face losing his ace in the hole. Because Skull is an Inverted Cloud, but Shuuhei is by personality a Classic Storm, and when you combine the two...well. (This partly came about because I noticed Kazeshini acted a lot like a loud, abrasive version of Hibari Kyouya. And this was born shortly after.)

Nothing special marks the day Skull de Mort dies.

_Hisagi Shuuhei stands atop a mountain of dead in a land of bones, night, and sand._

**Skull de Mort is surrounded by Byakuran’s men, with nowhere left to run, in a dead clearing in the middle of Siberia.**

Nothing, that is, save that that day, in two very different worlds, two other versions of Skull de Mort also die.

_He is the last one left.A bracelet, stained red with blood wraps around his upper left arm; the last thing Kisuke gave him._

**He is doing this to draw them off.He is the biggest target; the immortal, and though he is fully grown it won’t last for long.**

He is on vacation to Osaka, in Japan.Visiting old friends and making contacts for the Carcassa Famiglia, whom the Arcobaleno set him up with after he joined the World’s Strongest. 

_He closes his eyes, reaching for Kazeshini and Sombra de la Luna.The last two who have not left him.They reach back, and his soul is complete._

**He closes his eyes, reaching for his Flames.The only thing he has left to destroy them, and he’s pulling at straws.His soul is strangled, _still_ by the Pacifier and yet they fight their way past it, Storm and Cloud intermingling in a brilliant array of Dying Will Flames.**

He is exhausted after a month of running errands for Checkerface while making contacts in Japan for the immortal to get his beloved food delivered on time.Who knew the entity wanted, _needed_ ramen so badly?He closes his eyes, wearily reaching for his Flames, and is met with a sputtering gout of Storm as well as rich, vibrant Cloud. 

Something is missing. 

Something is _gone_ , and the world is _wrong_.

_The three of them clasp hands in his mind, all of them holding to the bracelet.It is their last hope.The last thing that Kisuke created before the war got too bad, before its intended user died to seal Aizen away.They channel reiatsu into it — black-edged white from Shuuhei, violet-edged white from Sombra, and red-edged black from Kazeshini.And they reach back for the anchor Kisuke created for them all those years ago._

_The world falls away in a flash of brilliant white fire and blood._

**He channels his brilliant Storm and Cloud, holding out as long as he can as Byakuran’s men close in on him, using them both to stay alive.Then he reaches inward, to the core of Flames that hold out in all Arcobaleno, Flames not quite corrupted by the Pacifier.Dying Will Flames of Night.Skull waits until he is completely surrounded, and with a blood-filled laugh, lets go with a Flame Cascade Bomb of Cloud, Night, and Storm.**

**The world falls away in red, violet, and black fire as his body and Byakuran’s men explode.**

Skull reaches too far into the empty void the foreign Mist Flames have left on his mind.He falls inward, deeper, toward something strange-sounding — toward the laughter of blood and wind, toward the fire that rushes through his veins, towards the sound of a death wail on the wind and towards the sounds of a bird of prey, soaring and screaming overhead. 

He is falling.

_They are falling.Then they are flying, through a storm the likes of which they have never seen before save for when their powers combine._

_It is them.They are together, one, whole, and they are complete._

_Violet and red fire crash into them and they laugh as their reiatsu finds itself._

**He is falling.And then he is Whole — the parts of his soul returned to him in a rush as he flashes through the Cascade.A bird screams overhead, screaming by so loudly it feels as though its very presence is a part of his soul.A wind blows, and chains rattle.**

**The cracks in his soul are filled.The void left by Mist Flames, no longer a void.**

**Skull laughs as he falls into the Cascade of Flames and chi, unable to help himself.**

**It has been so long since he has been whole.**

A white-haired brat with violet eyes appears in his mind’s eye. 

The brat is laughing, twisting the Sky Mare Ring on his finger.And Skull knows something has happened, because something _shivers_ in his soul, something deep within him where connections are forged. 

A Cascade Bomb washes through him of Storm, Cloud and Night Flames, as the sounds of battle, a death wail and a screech not unlike that of a Hou-ou overwhelm him. 

Skull loses consciousness and his body dies in an instant on the floor of his hotel room as a violent storm rips through the skies above.It is typhoon season, but even _this_ is excessive for the region —a fierce wind heralds the arrival of a storm surge the likes of which the town has never experienced before as power _rolls_ through the skies.

His bond with Luce, pale, thin, and reedy as it’s always been, snaps like a twig under the combined forces of Flames and reiatsu. The Sky Arcobaleno wakes with a scream in her home, scrabbling for the broken bond and finding nothing but wisps of Cloud that flow between her fingertips like water.The Sky Arcobaleno’s bloodline hangs by the thinnest thread as a Maelstrom with more power than Luce can even hope to touch sweeps Aria out of the womb and into the world.

His bond with Fēng trembles and thins to the barest hint of a Resonance bond between Elements — no longer the strong bond it once was, it’s thinned to the point of near-invisibility.It is as if he is part of his own Sky, a greater Sky than one that any one of the Arcobaleno can feel.Fēng feels it thin, and is too far away to do anything about it.But to be bound in that Sky, that brilliance he can feel intertwined in Skull’s soul — Fēng’s flimsy bond with Luce is stretched thin with the loss of Skull’s Resonance.

His flimsy partner-bond with Reborn, Renato Sinclair, snaps immediately, the Maelstrom washing through the bond and shearing it in half like a piece of tinfoil torn down the middle.The Sun Arcobaleno feels its loss, but cannot understand what it is he has lost until much later.Only the lackey’s face in his dreams — an older lackey, one who has _remembered_ , and Reborn decides that whatever it is, the lackey must pay for it.

His pathetic excuse for a bond with Verde vanishes in a gout of the Flames of Night.The Scientist doesn’t notice a thing, too busy with his lab.But later he will notice, as a faint black mark appears on the back of his right hand, in the shape of a skull.

His bond with Colonello dissolves in a furious flash of thunder, Cloud, and Storm, and Colonello, sleeping in the room across the hall, jumps out of bed with a shout when he feels it dissolve away into nothingness.But the hotel is silent.He tries Skull’s door — and finds he cannot get it to budge, no matter what he does.The storm outside picks up force.Colonello is forced to retreat to his room and hope that there won’t be a tsunami that night — the howling of the wind is unsettling, and he swears he can hear the screaming of a bird in it, a fierce cry the likes of which he’s never heard before.

Skull has never held bonds with the other Arcobaleno.They only believed he did because he was a superb actor.Skull’s flimsy, fake almost-bonds shatter around him as memory after memory hits.

A tall, thin man with combed-back, simple brown hair, and a Misty disposition in his reiatsu, appear in his mind’s eye.The man speaks, words that slide past Skull’s, Shuuhei’s, mind, but they are enough to make him _Rage_.The Rage that overtakes him drowns whatever the image is out of his mind. 

Lying in wait for the rest of the Arcobaleno, the Cloud Pacifier, the one meant to be held by the Strongest Cloud, cracks.Flames of Night sweep around it, crackling and fierce, with a subset of Cloudy Storm Flames — and a burden is lifted from the back of the world.

Distantly, Checkerface feels something shift as the Mare Rings’ powers are undone, the time loop fixing itself.From his base in Kyoto, he dismisses it — it’s simply an expression of the Mare Rings failing in another timeline.He will not think to check on the Pacifiers until six months have passed, and by then he will be at once furious and astonished that his bloodline, _Sepira’s_ bloodline is almost gone.

Skull’s soul laughs across the skies overhead as Aizen Sousuke, seated in the 5th Division’s offices in the Seireitei, feels a shiver of fear down his spine.He dismisses it after checking his office, as he has been working with Hollow reiatsu, and understandably it left him a little on edge.Deep within his soul, Kyōka Suigetsu shifts, and the divide between wielder and zanpakutou grows into a fissure, the faintest echo of Stormy Cloud surrounding the blade.

_He is home._ **He is home.**

**_They are home.They are home, and Skull/Shuuhei is whole again, his zanpakutou and Arrancar filling the holes left behind by Checkerface in his mind.Memories begin to reassert themselves as he slumbers, a smile present on his face.He won, and he has a chance to save his Skies from oblivion, true_ ** _destruction_ **_, this time._ **

**_He won, and the slimy immortal can no longer bind the Polarized, Inverted Maelstrom he truly is.Not a Storm, not a Cloud, and not living or dead — immortal — Skull is_ ** **_free_ ** _,_ **_and the world now sings with the power of his soul._ **

Despite Colonello’s calls, Skull stays, motionless, on the hardwood flooring.His skin pales, then darkens in turns until it settles on a shade not too dissimilar to the one he usually has.His bare arms grow marks — as does the rest of his body — as sword scars, pale blotches of white skin and raised scar tissue, and tattoos, including the number _69_ on his face, mirroring the teardrop tattoo in dark violet.The teardrop tattoo on his face has been replaced with a Maelstrom spiral, colored red, violet, white, and black altogether. 

The dye in his hair darkens as a shimmer of Storm flows through him, and then his hair turns violet again in response to the Cloud Flames.An aura of death surrounds him as a _katana_ -length blade, with a sheath at his left side patterned with Storm Flames appears in his right hand. 

A singlered armband, now a multicolored wonder of bright violet-tinged white and red-tinged black, bearing a single kanji, appears on on his left forearm.His sword blazes with fire, and white covers part of his face, a half-mask that covers his eyes in a visor-like formation and forehead with a crown of horn-like features, not dissimilar to a broken Hollow mask.White lines creep up his visible face.

The kanji on the armband reads _Hope_.

In the warehouse the Vizard are hiding out in, in Osaka Harbor, Hirako Shinji feels a shift in the _reiatsu_ pressure over the town.Something _big_ is causing the storm over Osaka Harbor, the howling and churning and _keening_ sounds intermixed with what sounds like a zanpakutou’s enraged screaming, but he can’t make sense of it.The storm smells _different_ — unnatural, in a way — and there is a blanket of almost-Hollow, eldritch-tinged _reiatsu_ covering the town.

But nothing has come for their warehouse.He can’t explain what the shift is that he feels, but the skies are lit up with green lightning and he can hear the rattling of chains in the wind. 

Something very like a deathly wail is echoing in his ears.

He checks the forecast, to be safe.

There is no storm scheduled for that night.

 _So how the_ **_fuck_ ** _is this happening?!_

For all Shinji looks, he (and the others, when he can’t discover the truth himself) can’t find anything wrong.Trying to sort through the reiatsu is impossible — it’s a tangled mess of _happy-happy-happy-home-free_ and _grief-gone-pain-sorrow_ and it can’t be originating from Osaka — it’s too faint for that.He shakes his head.

He’s jumping at shadows.The Vizard’s just moved to Osaka.Sakanade feels ruffled, but he can’t get anything else from her without risking Hollowfying and they only _just_ built this warehouse a month ago.There’s nothing wrong; he’s jumping at shadows.

He sends the others back to sleep.There are no camera-flies in Osaka.

No one is watching, and nothing is wrong.

(But everything is wrong.Everything, because he’s _deaddeaddead_ and Shinji can’t avoid the tears that start falling when he’s alone.

He doesn’t know why he’s crying, why he’s grieving or who died.But someone is _dead_ , who shouldn’t be, and it _hurts_. 

When he asks her, Sakanade has no answers for him.)

In Karakura Town, where Kisuke is just getting to set up his shop in the Living World and Dangai proper, hiding in plain sight from shinigami, Urahara Kisuke feels a shift in the winds.The former _togabito_ feels it rattling his chains, feels a single Link of them _break_ off as if someone took it — and yet, they did not.

He sends out Yoruichi as soon as she’s available to check and he does a check of all of Karakura, to be sure.He can’t tell what the shift is, and he won’t show Yoruichi what’s wrong no matter how many times she asks.Because he can see it — when he rolls up his sleeves.

(Someone has removed a Link.Taken it and used it.That shouldn’t be possible for anyone but _him_ , but that means something big has happened.That means someone used the _Hope_ Link, or another project like it, because no _togabito_ has ever come to Japan in his memory save him and that’s only a project in theory.He’s never managed to complete it.

He’s never had reason to try.

He doesn’t know why he’s crying when he goes to talk to Tessai.He’s not even really aware he’s doing it until he hears Benihime weeping in his soul, and steel, for all it wishes to, cannot cry.Someone is _dead_ and everything is _wrongwrongwrong_ and he doesn’t know who.)

He sends Tessai and Yoruichi back to bed after confirming that Karakura is safe.For good measure, he sends a message to the local Shinigami on duty, none of whom engage with him save as a simple merchant.

And he checks the forecast in Osaka on a whim, sensing something like a storm there; there is no storm scheduled for tonight.

He’s surprised to receive a Butterfly from Shinji.

The message is simple: **Grief?**

Kisuke takes a little time to respond, but when he does, he replies: **Yes. Keep your eyes out — someone’s used Hope.**

That’s all he can bear to send before he flees to his laboratory and puts his head in his hands, trying to imagine what could possibly have been so desperate as to force someone to use, to force _him_ to use a Link.Benihime’s dry sobs aren’t helping and he’s never felt so much like crying before. 

(His mate is dead.His mate is dead and the world will burn.

The world will tremble at his feet.

Nothing is okay and nothing will be okay ever again, because he is _dead_.

Kisuke wants him _back_.But he’s _deaddeaddead_ and it’s all Kisuke’s fault.

Not that Kisuke knows what that means.)

Eventually, he manages to fall asleep in the corner of the room.The remnants of his Link come to him slowly, and when they do, so does a corona of brilliant orange fire, tinged with a soft blue and hard-edged violet. 

(Kisuke remembers and the world will hate him for this, because he doesn’t want to, but he’s so grateful Shuuhei used the Link.He can’t help himself — he gets to have his Sky back, gets to have his anchor back, and for all he doesn’t _understand_ what’s going on, he knows Shuuhei’s managed to come back.)

In his hotel room, Skull twitches.

His body begins to breathe again.Stutteringly, and slowly, his skin darkening a little as three tattoos form on his chest.

The first is of a black moon, surrounded in a corona of red and orange.It looks like an Eclipsing Moon.

(It is the symbol of his Skies and with it he is forever free.)

The second is of a set of chains, spiraling around in what looks like wind currents.

(It is Kazeshini who sings with his soul and cannot ever leave him, who cannot bear to be parted with him again.Who cannot help but to bind their soul ever-tighter together.)

The chains wrap around the third symbol, a brilliant thing that if not for Byakuran of the Gesso Famiglia, he would never have known he had.If not for Byakuran, he would never have mastered this.The white mask slowly drips away as the form of a great winged _thing_ takes form on his chest, below the moon, almost chained to it but the chains are swirling around the thing like a Reaper of Western tradition.It has a birdlike head and a single bright, violet eye.

(It is his Hollow, his Cloud, his freedom.It is Sombra de la Luna, Ichigo’s awoken protector and _his Skies’_ own.And if not for Checkerface and Aizen both, it would not have come into being at all; and if not for Byakuran he would never have fused so completely with his Inner Hollow.)

The world trembles.The Reiou, from within his palace, feels a shift and the Gates of the Heavens shimmer and shift, a single lock forming of black, white, violet and red Flames — Storm and Swamp, Night and Day, Cloud and Sand. 

It is the most beautiful thing the Reiou Guards have ever seen.

The Gates have never looked so impassable before, and yet now they hold more power than they have in the centuries since the Guard Squadron was formed.

Distantly, a single figure seated upon his throne, deep within the palace of the Reiou, imprisoned for his crimes, howls in pain and fury as a part of him is _ripped_ from his soul, torn in half as his sanity dissipates.His power is diminished.And the Harmony of the Skies’ is heightened.

A voice very like wind laughs in his ears as its chains rip away the being’s power, permanently disconnecting them from everyone they have so hurt.Storm and Cloud together rip and tear and _kill_ and the being is left a shadow of its former self, no longer even able to scheme.Reduced to a watcher, as the timelines fold over on themselves and _bend_.

(Shuuhei has always held the power of chains and the allegiance to Heaven for a reason.The Hope Link would only work for two people, and the only one left alive is the one who used it.)

Daniella di Vongola, Vongola Ottavo, feels a shift on the wind.Her Intuition tells her that something has changed — that very soon, the Arcobaleno will become irrelevant — and to get her idiot of a son to give her some time with her grandson.She’s been busy, but she can spend time with her family and her Intuition is screaming like a five alarm fire in her ears. She will spend a lot of time trying to figure out what's happened.

Something has changed. 

And maybe not for the better.

Time twists over and over, bending back and looping around itself, struggling to flow past the sudden, brightly colored eddy in its midst.It shifts, shimmers, and shudders, struggling to find a new path through the mist.Day and Night Flames reach out to it, and gently guide it along, showing it a new path — one it has never taken before.

Flowing around, and with, this eddy’s new course, the future will change.

Forever.


	2. Skull: The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up from integrating memories, Skull or Shuuhei, whichever he is now, has to deal with the consequences.
> 
> Note: Skull doesn't really like Luce and doesn't, as I said in the previous chapter, care if she survives. He also has a low opinion of Reborn. Colonello and Feng are the only 2 Arcobaleno he's ever really gotten along with and neither of them remember him.
> 
> Also, we catch sight of both his inner Arrancar and his zanpakutou in this story. :) They're separate for a reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there are once again no pairings for this chapter, but a side note: Skull/Shuuhei honestly doesn't care if Luce dies. It might not be obvious, but he blames her in large part for losing access to his zanpakutou in the future and for letting them all die horribly. So, you know, Luce isn't high on his list of nice people.
> 
> I personally don't like her but I see why she did what she did. Shuuhei has more reason to feel vengeful than I do.

Skull takes a whole day to wake.

Colonello can’t enter his room, for all he tries — no one can and a rifle won’t pierce the door — and when he does finally wake, it’s a slow, measured process.It begins with his breathing speeding up a bit, and evening out, as he slowly comes to awareness.

It’s not in the waking world, which is part of why it takes so long for him to wake.

Though at times, it feels like it does.

His first hint that he’s still alive comes from his Inner world — he’s in a roiling sky, standing (lying but standing) atop stormclouds as a storm _rages_ around him, and the ache of his broken bonds echoes through him.His Skies are gone, as are his bonds and he has nothing. 

Nothing but his own soul.

It’s excruciating, how slow this is, but he can’t help it — he’s weak.His soul isn’t used up, exactly, but the world around him is certainly not the one he remembers. 

In either timeline.

But it’s also the world he knows, intimately and completely and he loves it.It’s the warmth he’s been missing and the love of Corte and Kazeshini and the power he’s held for so long, something he’s never quite been able to touch in either timeline, now pulsing through his veins. 

He looks around and down at himself and almost laughs upon seeing Kazeshini in her _bankai_ form, and his Arrancar nearly fused with her.Because of course that would be who greets him — and he’s still wearing his visor, half-Arrancar half-Vizard, as he’s so used to.His hair, though, is purple and he’s wearing part of a torn violet jumpsuit.

His mind aches and he can see the roiling storm overhead, the crackling of lightning through the skies and feels the burns of Hellfire on his arms.His arms, plural — he’s no longer missing one; Skull’s memories tell him it should be gone, burned to ash but it’s still _here_ — and he’s not in his _gigai_ right now, but his Inner World.

Standing over him is a grinning, familiar face, on a shadowy body with a woman’s voice.Huh.Not even Aizen knew his zanpakutou was female, so that meant he _was_ , in fact, somewhere else. 

_It worked._

“Miss me?” his zanpakutou asks as Shuuhei slowly gets to his feet, brain aching even as he tries to make sense of what’s happened. “We did it — ‘cept it wasn’t just us,” she finishes with a chain-like laugh.

Shuuhei rubs the exhaustion from his eyes and turns, seeing his Arrancar, Sombra, standing there with his arms folded and a smirk on his face.There’s a third, flickering form — almost lost to the storm — made entirely out of shadowy wisps and he pauses upon seeing it. 

It almost reminds him of Kazeshini, but it’s all wrong.

If he didn’t know better he would describe it as the soul fragments he’s felt in the Pacifier — but that’s not right, either, because he bound that thing away from his soul.This is something else, some _one_ else, and he doesn’t recognize it.He’s had two lifetimes to go over and neither Shuuhei’s nor Skull’s memories cover this.

Two versions of himself — Reiou, does his head hurt all of a sudden, and then he _remembers_.A life spent away from her, a life spent in chains, screaming, reaching for the half of his soul that was taken from him.A haunting laugh echoes through his mind as he remembers Checkerface and Skull’s fury causes the skies to erupt with a new, furious storm, whipping the air around them into a frenzy of clouds and wind.

Kazeshini’s been torn to pieces by that bastard.

But she’s back, now, and for a moment Shuuhei’s overcome with bloodlust and the desire to _destroy_ that fool of a Quincy.His rage fades as he recalls the revelation that Checkerface had been forced into it and no less, his mission from his time as Skull — from before the amnesia.Checkerface, Kawahira, is a Quincy — one of the few that were tasked with keeping the world’s balance, after the Quincies unbalanced it.The system sucks and is no longer needed but Kawahira is _still_ being forced to use it.

And Shuuhei was tapped to kill him in both this timeline and Skull’s.

 _Damn, am I glad I integrated before I woke up,_ he thinks, looking at Kazeshini, who’s peering at him with a wild, familiar grin on her face.

“What’s the matter, partner?Still worried ‘bout killing that old man?” Kazeshini asks, and Shuuhei laughs, shaking his head.

“No.I’ll ask one of our Skies,” Skies, that’s what Kisuke and Ichigo were, and he suspects at least Shinji too, if not both of the younger Kurosakis. “See if Kisuke has any idea.What’s that?” he nods to the formless, wind-shaped thing.

Kazeshini shrugs, and so does Sombra **“We’re not sure.It’s been here since you integrated.”**

The last remnants of Skull de Mort?No, he’s got all of Skull’s memories — he wouldn’t stick around.So what is this new…he pauses, reaching out to touch it, and the being shifts and shimmers like water.He’s not sure what it is.

It’s like wind and skies, and freedom, but not.

Then again, he’s not sure of much anymore.Not since he used the Hope Link.

Not since he’s found he’s two people, not one, but he’s both and neither all at once.

That’s probably going to be the most confusing part of this.He’s just grateful both versions of him agreed — on at least a spiritual level — to combine their powers and memories, rather than overwrite each other. 

“Keep an eye on it for me,” Shuuhei says, frowning. “I don’t recognize it.”

“Already on it,” hums Kazeshini. “Find Benihime for me,” she adds, “I want to play.”

Shuuhei grins, her bloodlust washing over him without a trace of fear.He’s lost his fear of his spirit — Kazeshini likes blood, yeah, but she’s _him_ — she doesn’t scare him, not anymore.Not since he first managed to fight with her and Corte in tandem.

“I will.Hopefully the Vizards aren’t hopelessly powerless, so Sombra gets some exercise too,” he winks at his Arrancar, who is representative of the cooler, more calculating side of his spirit — honestly, by behavior alone, he’s sure most people would mistake Corte for his zanpakutou and Kazeshini for his Arrancar.

Sombra grins at him beneath the mask **“Sounds like fun.I’m about done with _regeneracion_ , and someone wants you awake.”**

Shuuhei/Skull groans, “Probably Colonello, we were on a mission together before this shit went down.Damn it.” He sighs, and the Inner world flashes with darkness, overtaking the storm and the glow of his twin spirits. “Alright.See ya in the outer world?”

 **“Have fun,”** Sombra says with a smirk, and then Kazeshini catches him in one of her chains and throws him skywards, though skywards is down — and towards the waking world.

It’s the last thing he hears before the world goes dark around him, his spirits’ laughter echoing in his ears as he flies.

Skull, or rather, Hisagi Shuuhei, comes back to himself slowly.

The first thing he hears is a ramming sound against the door — someone trying to get in, maybe to wake him? — And even that takes time to process.He’s bypassed his Inner world entirely.

The process is measured, as life comes back into his still, unmoving body.First his breathing quickens, then he processes the sound.He rolls to one side immediately and gets to his feet, realizing his arm is still here and that he is in a physical body.In a _gigai_ , but one that has been turned into a body— **one Kawahira used him for, tore him from his zanpakutou and his hope and destroyed it** — and with two voices whispering in the back of his head, and a voice whispering to him, _find the Skies._

_Find the Skies._

Find the Skies, even if it takes him the rest of his damn life, and now in possession of all _three_ variants of his sets of memories and the power that goes along with it.

Everything hurts, but nothing hurts and he is _free_.He can feel it — Kazeshini and Sombra both freed him from the grips of Kawahira’s Pacifiers, his Night Flames coming to him as easily as breathing and Skull laughs.He laughs until he cries, because only then does it hit him.

He is Skull de Mort, he is free of the Seireitei’s responsibilities, Tousen wanted him dead and sent him away, and _he’s free to find his Skies_ because _no one cares where he is anymore._

For all he’s been awake and alive for a long time, it’s nothing to the _warmth_ he feels now.His bonds might be broken, but so too are the chains that imprisoned him, and he is ready to do everything he can to change their future.And from this point in time, where he’s listed as MIA on a mission to the Human World — he actually _can_.

Kazeshini and Sombra join in, giving him an odd, three-toned laugh until he finally gets to his feet.The pounding is harmless — his spiritual pressure alone is enough to keep it out — and he needs to figure out what the hell just happened to him.

The room he’s in is thankfully undamaged.He’s paid through today, if today it is — he doesn’t know what day it is so he might owe money.Lucky for him he’s got a few favors stored up with Mammon — Viper, he corrects himself, as they haven’t started going by Mammon yet.They won’t for about twenty-six years, until they become the Varia Mist.

He can sort of see how Vongola Nono made the mistake of assuming Xanxus wanted the headship of Vongola.Sort of, because really, he’d fought for the Varia with blood, sweat, and tears.

_Guys?_

_It took us about thirty-six hours to get your memories organized,_ Kazeshini says, sheepish. _I tried to make it faster.But you hit another version of yourself on the way here and, well — his versions of us were_ ** _furious_** _._ _Integration took awhile._

 ** _Good thing we did.I’m an Adjuchas-class Arrancar on the same level as Ichigo’s back when he first evolved,_** Sombra piped up. **_I think the Skies are Kisuke, Ichigo, and Shinji.Anyone else I’m missin’?_**

He does a check of his memories and winces; _Yes, Tsunayoshi Sawada should be born soon and I suspect the Kurosaki twins are Skies, too, with full complements of Elements.We need to find Tsuna and train him, maybe even bring him to Ichigo’s attention if we can’t.Is Ichigo — fuck, what year is it?_

_I checked.We’re still in the 70s — 1977.Checkerface wants you to do one more mission and he’ll set up the Curse Trials at the end of this.We’re back to the month before we got cursed — we gotta go back to Italy to collect payment and then some team “bonding,” as those dumbasses called it back then.It’s the first and only time you meet as a group, and Colonello doesn’t come with you._

_Dammit, we undershot!We were aiming further,_ swears Shuuhei as he slowly pushes himself to his feet, with Kazeshini’s physical form in his hands, bracing himself on the sturdy blade. _Well damn!This is good…_ he stops, quickly catalogues his reiatsu levels and bites back a swear. _Motherfucker!Aizen doesn’t move until after Masaki’s death, and he’s_ ** _already_** _creating Arrancar!How many years younger than Ichigo is Tsuna?How old is Iemitsu right now?_

 ** _Tsuna is the same age as Ichigo, and right now his father is barely eleven years old,_** reports Sombra, and Skull, Shuuhei, whatever name he has now, fights the urge to hit himself. ** _Speaking of which, Aizen is preparing to release that Hollow to Karakura by 1990.You have to let it happen, or Ichigo won’t ever get Zangetsu.Tsuna will be born sooner than Ichigo — born in April rather than June — but Ichigo is safe for the first eight years, at least._**

 _We can’t count on that.We need to fucking keep an eye on_ **_everything_ ** _._

Because of fucking course him being here has changed everything.Just fucking typical.

He sheathes his blade, and a knock at the door has him scrambling to the bathroom.He needs to _see_ , to really know that this is _real_. 

The mirror shows him a face he’s grown used to seeing in the mirror, albeit without the bright purple hair.He’s way more used to dark, purple-tinged black, but the longer he looks the more he likes it.It’s striking, and a complete change from who he was as Hisagi Shuuhei — which means no one will suspect a thing.

The purple can stay — and the spiral below the eye that used to hold a teardrop, opposite his tattoo, though he’s going to have to cover the rest of the marks with makeup.He can see the Hollow scarring on his physical body as well as the rest of his scars; everything from a ring of slightly white scarring where he lost an arm to Aizen and Kyouka Suigetsu, to the spiderwebbing of scars he’d earned by having his Night Flames blow his hand off in the future when he used them as Skull de Mort against the Six Funeral Wreaths.

Reiou, having a mortal body — or immortal body, given what he remembers of that one timeline — is so fucking confusing.

He’s also certain he screwed Byakuran’s timeline up permanently by destroying that version of the Mare Rings.The Cervello will be getting a _visit_ from him soon.Shuuhei smirks to himself — he’s sure Kawahira won’t check, and by the time he does, it’ll be too late for the immortal to stop him.He has to keep the timeline running the way it is, though — and that means finishing out his time in Japan.If he remembers correctly he’s got a ride back to the Arcobaleno house today.

_I really don’t want to go back._

**_Then don’t.It won’t change too much if you go back later._ **

_Fair point.The only thing I’m missing is Reborn shooting at me and Verde nearly blowing up the labs…not much to miss, there._

He is a little thinner and more muscular than he remembers, but that can be disguised with makeup and the jumpsuit he’s spent the day in.A quick brush of Storm Flames cleans the rest of the gunk off of his body, though he leaves the dye in his hair — Storm Flames are so much more efficient than water.

He likes the extra firepower, and that no one knows he has it.Because of course no one does — he’s not stupid; he knows the Arcobaleno look at him as an idiot and a civilian.Based on the amount of time he has to hide for, for the remaining future, he’s grateful the Link dropped him off after he was already assigned this mission — it would’ve been very difficult to hide this anywhere in Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, but here in a _gigai_ fitted to look like his soul, he can.It’s one hell of a lot easier than trying to disguise his distrust from his captain, though he’d been prepared for anything from being a child again to becoming more than a Shinigami the day he’d activated it.

Skull, on the other hand, had been walking to his death with a smile.

_And now ya’ve got both of us back.As soon as you’re in good condition, I want a spar._

_Of course,_ he smiles at Kazeshini, _just give me some time to figure out what the fuck’s going on, okay?Then I’ll spar with you_ ** _and_** _Sombra._

 ** _I’m holding you to that,_** Sombra informs him.

_I’m counting on it._

He does a check of his body, unsurprised to find that he’s now as muscular as he was in both futures.His eyes now have black sclera, rather than white, and are a striking purple instead of the gray-tinged hazel they were as Shuuhei; another change that will keep people from assuming he’s Shuuhei.Of course, he has to check his soul-form, but not right now; he’s probably being monitored since he’s in Japan.

Better not to attract too much attention.He can limit his reiatsu output, but it would still send out a dangerous signal to people he doesn’t want to attract right now.

The lessons Yoruichi drilled into his head, and his former Onmi training from the second war, kick in immediately and he goes for his bag.Skull de Mort appears to have kept up the tradition, as he’s got a full set of cosmetic supplies; clearly he’s good at disguise, something the Arcobaleno have yet to notice.Shuuhei continues to ignore the pounding at the door door, puts his jumpsuit on, and gets to work on his makeup.

His hair is still darker than it was in his memories, so he tries to reach for Mist — something he’s learned he has very recently, at least as Skull, and something Shuuhei has almost no familiarity with — and to his surprise, it works.He’s able to layer a thin illusion over his hair to turn it bright purple, to match his jumpsuit.

He grins at himself, applying makeup to the rest of his scarring as Kazeshini’s laugh echoes in his head. 

_This is almost too easy_.

He looks to Kazeshini’s physical form, resting on the countertop; her blade is slim, strong, and nondescript with a black sheath and black hilt with two links of a chain attached to it.A sign of the chains that wrap around him, that give him power as they do control. 

She’s always been a presence at his side; not having her will be…odd.

_I’m still here, Shuu.Even if you can’t materialize me._

“Skull!” shouts a voice he recognizes as Colonello’s — Colonello from the future, Colonello his friend, Colonello who in this time is almost a stranger to him — “Skull!We’re being recalled!Open the damn door!”

_Want to stay out?_

_Much as I would like to, you need to be able to travel inconspicuously,_ his blade melts into black and silver wind surrounding his palms and sinks into his right hand. _I will be here.Don’t forget about me, ne?I like being used._

 _Never,_ Skull replies, calling up everything he can for the loud idiot mask, and finding he almost doesn’t have the heart to do it to Colonello.Colonello’s always been nice to him. _Tell me when. Right now, I have to go pretend to be an idiot._

 ** _He deserves it least,_** observes Sombra, **_apart from Feng, he has been kind._**

_I know._

The problem is that Skull agrees with him, which means he’s going to have to drop some of his playacting around the other.Less of the annoying/irritating aspect, anyway.

Most of it is just an act to annoy Reborn, but there’s more to it than that now and he has an image to keep up.Colonello’s been pleasantly surprised by him before, though, so he decides that’s enough of a basis to act a little bit differently.He packs his things, and opens the door to see a surprised blond man standing on the other side.

He takes in Colonello’s current physical form with a small amount of surprise; memory hasn’t quite done the other justice.The Rain’s eyes aren’t blue yet, but a startling dark gray, hair still short and without the hat he’s got some spikes showing in dark blond hair.Not quite as many as Skull, but more than he remembers.Colonello’s also still wearing a dark leather jacket and jeans, and he looks — he reminds Skull of Shin, of a Shinji crossed with Kisuke for a moment. 

The other Arcobaleno almost punches him in the face and Skull dodges without thinking.

It’ll probably come back to haunt him later, since he remembers too late he’s supposed to take hits like that instead of dodge, but he doesn’t care.He can’t bring himself to care.

“What the hell, kora?!” shouts Colonello, barging into the room and past Skull, only to shut the door and round on him, backing him up against it. “You have been in here for a _whole day_ , by yourself with the door locked!What, did you forget to sleep for a week _again_ , kora?!Do you know how worried I’ve been?”

Skull tries for placating as his inner spirits laugh but doesn’t quite manage it.He wants to laugh too badly and this Colonello — this unburdened, kind man who barges into his room to make sure he’s _okay_ — is someone he’s desperately missed.He was one of the last left standing in the one timeline, and for all his faults Colonello had been a good friend.Seeing him alive doesn’t quite knock Skull for a loop, but it should.

Then again, Shuuhei’s seen so many friends die that being shocked isn’t really an option, not with the time travel.

“Ne, ne, I’m sorry!I didn’t realize I was asleep for such a long time, hehehe…although I’m surprised, couldn’t you break the door down?”

_Did you two do something to it?_

Colonello shakes his head and his spirits laugh again, without answering.

That’s enough of an answer for him.

“We’ve been _recalled_ , kora; whatever happened last night’s got everyone spooked, and Vongola Ottavo wants to speak with us,” snaps Colonello, and Skull nods, recognizing he’s lost this argument. Colonello softens as Skull makes himself shrink a little, “I was really worried about you, kora.I felt our bond snap last night.”

“Snap?” Skull frowns; with Flame bonds (and apparently, breaking them) involved he’s going to have to do a lot more lying than he thought in the coming month.

He doesn’t remember bonding with Colonello.Though then a half-formed memory comes to mind, of partner-bonds formed loosely between Flames held in the same Sky.It only worked because Luce was able to partially Harmonize with him in the first place.

_She’s not my Sky, so the bond snapped._

_They don’t deserve you,_ hisses Kazeshini. _None of them. Only our Skies._

 _I know, but they don’t,_ he tells her.

“Yes, kora, _snap_.Dissolve, whoosh — like it was never there in the first place,” Colonello relents, frowning “What did I do, kora?When did you stop trusting me?”

“I -- I don’t, I,“ but that’s always been the problem, hasn’t it?

Trust.It all comes down to trust, and the fact of the matter is there are very, very few people that Skull trusts right now.Two of them haven’t been born yet and two of them don’t know his name in this timeline.He trusts so few people.

He trusts so many fewer people, knowing how many have betrayed everything he stands for over the years.

Once upon a time he’d trusted Colonello.Once upon a time, Colonello had left him to die.Once upon a time, he’d trusted the Arcobaleno — before he had watched them die, before he knew that he wasn’t meant to be one of them, before he knew that the Cloud, the would-be Cloud Lal Mirch had been passed over in favor of _him_ — before he knew the fate of the world rested on the shoulders of a single teenage boy.

Before he went to war and came back changed.

The Arcobaleno remember him.But he doesn’t remember _these_ Arcobaleno; he remembers the desperate, angry Arcobaleno who were killed by Byakuran.Who were sacrifices in a war they should never have been involved in.He remembers the Arrancar and the Shinigami and the Vizard who fought side-by-side with him, who died with him and rose again.

He’s Skull de Mort right now.Not Shuuhei Hisagi.Though he is both, he must be Skull right here and now.It’s — oh, _this is going to suck._

He’s not sure what his face is doing, but it’s enough that Colonello frowns. “Skull…are you okay?”

(He’s as okay as he can be.His Sky is gone, _gone_ , and _not coming back_ — thanks to Yhwach and Aizen, and Skull wants to scream because he needs his Skies and he doesn’t have any of them — so, until he’s got a Flame bond, no, he’s not okay.He’s very close, though, and it’s enough to pretend.)

Kazeshini and Corte wrap their presences around the aching hole in his soul, the one where his Skies’ bond used to sit. 

“I need to make a ph-phone call,” Skull manages, “I’m — I — Colonello, it’s — complicated.I’m sorry.I’m — I…” he sighs.

_How am I ever going to explain this? Fine mess we’ve gotten into here.I forgot he was on a mission with us!_

_Hey, don’t the Bovino Famiglia have that shitty bazooka already?Lie about something like that.Or your memories!_

That’s a point.The Ten-year Bazooka hasn’t been invented yet, but Skull’s pretty sure he can explain the rest of this away with an experiment gone wrong.But who to say he was involved with?

Maybe he doesn’t have to.Maybe it’s enough for Colonello to see.

Colonello’s hand hovers over Skull’s shoulder, and then he stops, frowning at the distinctive armband wrapped around Skull’s upper arm. “What’s that, kora?”

Skull’s training is the only reason he doesn’t stiffen when it’s almost touched. “Part of the problem, and part of why our bond dissolved — no,” he put his finger to the future Arcobaleno’s lips, and he stops, mouth half-open. “I meant it when I said I need to make a phone call.I have an ally I need to talk to, _right now_.We will talk about this _after_ I speak with him.”

Colonello nods, frowning “Okay, kora.That’s — that thing is,” he stops “Is that a Flame-infused armband?Where did you get that?”

Skull flashes him a razor-sharp smile “Of a sort.It is tied to me and me alone, keyed into my Flames and my chi, so taking it off me without my consent would be…unwise.The last idiot who tried…” he lets Colonello draw his own conclusions.

The Rain goes pale and nods. 

Not to mention deadly to whomever got a dose of Kisuke’s Hell Flames.He’ll let the idiot who tries to steal it from him figure that out for themselves.He’s a little too cheerful, enough so that Colonello backs off — Skull’s never this serious, even on a job.But then, he’s not really Skull anymore.

It’s clearly unnerving this younger Colonello, but right now, he just can’t seem to care.

“Right.Phone call,” he turns to the desk phone, and picks it up, listening for a dial tone. 

It rings out, so he dials the number for the Urahara Shouten, praying to Kisuke to _just fucking listen to him._ Because he can’t get through this without his Skies.

He needs at least one right now or he’s going to cry.

 _“Hello,”_ Skull can’t help his eyes filling with tears at the familiar voice. _“Urahara Shouten, Urahara Kisuke speaking.”_

Skull picks his words carefully, choking back a relieved sob. “Hello, Urahara.This is Skull de Mort, District Lieutenant and Apprentice to the Viz,” he holds up a finger to Colonello, “The Link is with me, and Hope’s Locket has been created.When should I meet you to return the Link to your possession?”

There is a pregnant pause from the other end of the phone. 

Shuuhei, Skull, can only hope Urahara’s not planning something stupid.Or deadly.

The shopkeeper does have such an odd sense of humor.Sometimes he wonders.

_“And the fox said to the hound, ‘you shall never catch me, for you are far too slow.’”_

Skull can tell it’s a test, and replies “The firebird will bear with them the fox and the cat, and the soaring skies will be open to their oaths.Bound by the oaths, the whisper will happily join the family once more.”

It’s a very specific code taught to him for a very, very specific reason.It’s only something that one of Urahara’s students would know — and it’s crafted out of an ancient Onmitsukudou code that isn’t in use anymore.

A beat passes and Kazeshini stirs, eager.

 _“Where are you?”_ The shopkeeper’s voice is now much more intent, but less suspicious.

Good.

“Osaka Harbor, I’m here for ” he covered the phone when Colonello protested.

“Luce’s in _trouble_ , Skull,” he tried, “You really need to come back with us!

“Go back without me.I’m busy.” He returned to his phone call “I am sorry, Urahara-san.My associate wants me to return with him.There are no flies in this hotel; if they were here I destroyed them.”

 _“Are you capable of drawing?”_ it takes him a bit to realize what Urahara’s talking about — he’s asking for a Garganta so they can talk. 

_Not always a good plan — is he even talking to hime?_

_Yes, thanks, I know that.Likely not yet, remember he’s not had cause to train like we do._

_You make a fair point._

“Yes, but unless you have a shielded area, I cannot venture to your Shouten directly without causing a stir,” he points out. “Unless we are cementing an alliance.I have plans to remain in Osaka today, but I am due in Germany tomorrow — the group I am currently part of is contracted to someone and I’m still owed payment for my last mission.I can stay for about a week without causing a fuss, but no longer.”

 _“Maa, ordinarily I would make you stay,”_ Kisuke has not been softened by time, not _this_ Kisuke, but Skull holds his breath. _“But Shin-Shin’s been looking for visitors for awhile.I suppose I can make the time to drop by.”_

“If you can draw, I’m going to be near the,” he says the name of his hotel, “until noon.My associate is currently with me.Unfortunately, the falcon is a bit too talkative, so be aware.”

“Hey, I am not, kora!” protests Colonello, but Skull’s too focused on his phone call.

**_Tch.Annoying pest._ **

Rain Flames flare along the edge of Skull’s senses, but he’s immune to most of their effects unless they’re actively being aimed at him — Skull’s just being rattled at, like Colonello trying to get him to give up his secrets.He scrambles his own Flames in a pattern that says _leave it ALONE_ back at the Arcobaleno-to-be and Colonello backs off.

 _“This is acceptable.I will meet you in the lobby at 10am.”_ Skull glances at the clock and bites back a curse, because it’s 9:45am. _“Be there.”_

_Where the hell else would I be?_

**_Gambling?_ **

_Getting high?_

_I didn’t ask for a peanut gallery, you two,_ chides Skull, but neither feel ashamed, only amused.

“Will do…geta-boushi.” Skull laughs at Kisuke’s startled squawk at the nickname and hangs up the phone before he can protest it.

He turns to Colonello “I have an important meeting.No, you can’t attend; though you can certainly try, geta-boushi might actually take your head off.Your choice,” he smiles, “I’m going to make sure I don’t stink by the time I meet him.”

Leaving the stunned Arcobaleno at the door, he heads into the bathroom, and cleans himself up.He’s meeting one of his Skies.

Kisuke trusts him enough to _meet with him_ with the only clue being a few words.A few words and a feeling, if the Link went missing from his Flames.

_Does he know?_

Gods, Shuuhei hopes he does.He’s just finished shaving by the time Colonello bursts through the bathroom door, and becomes Skull again as the Arcobaleno crashes in.

“We have to _leave_ , kora!Right now!” protests Colonlelo, and Skull gives him a deadpan look. “Skull.Luce went into early labor,” he’s a little pale, “She could die, and so could her baby.We’re being recalled early.”

And good riddance to her if she did.Skull doesn’t like maneuvering around so many manipulative assholes.He might be good at it, but he doesn’t _enjoy_ it.

Colonello looks like he’s expecting Skull to care about Luce. 

The truth is, Skull can’t bring himself to care about the woman who tricked them into bonding with her, almost truly Harmonizing (with him being one of the few exceptions) and then left them to die.She is a cold bitch at heart — little wonder she is Reborn’s True Sky.

“She is not my Sky,” Skull rebuffs, and Colonello’s eyes widen in surprise. He continues “I have a _mission_ , Colonello — and one not involving you.I received this last night,” he taps the armband “And I have a mission.Outside source, contractor classified; something I can’t even begin to explain to any of you.You return to your Sky; I’m needed here.”

“But — but, she — she’s still your friend, r-right?” stammers Colonello.

Skull packs his small bag with ease, and slings it over his back. “She tried to forcibly bind me, ensnare me with her Sky and I burned her for it.You tell me, Colonello, why she won’t come near me anymore.”

He leaves the stunned — future — Arcobaleno in the room as he makes his way to the lobby, heart almost pounding out of his chest.He’s _actually_ on a collision path with one of his Skies right now.And it sounds like Kisuke actually _believes_ him.

Skull can only hope he’s not about to walk into an assassin’s lair, but with Kisuke, who knew?He is, after all, a cheerful sort of insane that’s natural in Rains with the cleverness of Mists, and the charisma of a Sky.

Even if he does, he’s pretty sure Kisuke won’t be able to kill him.Kisuke’s Hell Flames tend to like Kazeshini and Corte, so that’s not much of a worry — and if he does almost die, well, his Cloud Flames should stop him from actually being torn apart for good by Benihime.She’s not capable of the atom-level dispersion Zangetsu is, so it’s not, and can’t, be enough to kill him.

He’s kind of excited.He hasn’t seen Kisuke in over two years **(over twenty)** and he’s really, really missed his Sky. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D Yes, Kisuke is a Rainy Sky, and he is a Very Possessive Rainy Sky.
> 
> I figure one of the reasons Reborn feels so betrayed by Luce is that she IS his true Sky in canon. Unlike Skull, who has a separate Sky.
> 
> Corte translates loosely to Hunter. 
> 
> Yes, Kazeshini is female in this :) because I thought it was fitting for the character. I recognize it's not exactly canon but we're also not really given a gender for Kazeshini.


	3. Chapter Three: Urahara Kisuke, Meet Skull de Mort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kisuke meets Skull. 
> 
> Also, an introduction of how time travel works, what exactly Black Flames are, and just what, exactly, Kisuke did to make Skull so terrifyingly effective. (Also contains bonus expansion info on why Seireitei didn't notice what was going on, or is, and more plotting.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I noticed pretty early on that the Vindice have black flames and chains. Guess who else has black-edged reiatsu and chains? Hisagi Shuuhei.
> 
> This chapter is Kisuke PoV, and for good reason. I have a lot of headcanons about Kisuke, and one of them is explored here. There are many good reasons for Kisuke's existence, and for his powers being what they are. He's also a miracle-worker, so I figured him having a 'failsafe' made sense. Also, I needed someone to be shocked that the 'regular lieutenant' is the one who was sent back, instead of, say, Ichigo or Kisuke himself.
> 
> Kisuke is hard to write. Benihime is even harder because, unlike Kazeshini and Sombra, he doesn't talk to her regularly. It's heavily implied that Ichigo's tendency to just 'talk' to his zanpakutou is abnormal. Kisuke's connection to Benihime is abnormally strong, stronger than it would be in canon because it's only been fifty years.

Kisuke wants to investigate this man, this ‘apprentice’ of his, badly enough to go find him.The man knows enough of his code to contact him the right way — if any way can be considered ‘right’ — so he starts feeling for the Link.

His Link shows him key points in the timeline, but that's all it can do at a distance — and he needs to touch it to use it to its fullest extent.His copy of it disappeared last night, which means it is now in the hands of Skull de Mort.Skull de Mort isn’t the man he gave it to, but then — maybe that’s a cover identity.He _is_ acting in the human world now, after all.

And it would explain why he keeps feeling the aching _loss_ of a bond though he doesn’t have any new ones — the most he has is a mutual harmony bond with Shinji.Something most Orange Aspects can’t do, because they assume dominance is necessary and try to harm the other.

(Serireitei’s teachings are why they will fall to Aizen, in the end.They’re supposed to be something like lords of their own squadrons, an attitude no one, not even Unohana, tries to reject and it’s killing them.)

He uses a Garganta to cross to the outside of the hotel, in a nearby alleyway, and feels for the reiatsu signature of the man he supposes he’s going to meet.

He’s surprised to find that the signature’s a mixture of both Hollow and Shinigami, a balanced mixture with a few riotous streaks of furious independence binding it all together.It feels like wind, like chains rattling over his soul and the bone-dead laugh that reminds him of how Western folklore depicts Shinigami.Benihime ripples in response, her bloodlust rising in interest and it takes considerable effort to contain it.

The person’s presence is chilling.And intriguing, because it’s forcibly muted — likely sealed — but not suppressed; just wound up and around and around in a concentric set of circles to protect its owner.The Hollow and the Shinigami are as intertwined as they can get without going insane, and rather than eating the Shinigami, the Hollow has merged with it permanently.That should be impossible to accomplish with Hollow reiatsu, but this stranger has managed it.

(It reminds him of the Vizards, but this man is not insane.)

And it feels level.Steady.Simply put, trying to harm this soul would be akin to punching the ocean — it does absolutely nothing to hurt them.And it would make Kisuke look like a complete idiot.

Interesting.He hadn’t thought a soul like this existed in the world, especially not a Shinigami.

(There’s a part of it that isn’t calm; that yet howls with broken, familiar pain.It makes him want to weep, want to scream, because he recognizes that soul and he knows why it’s broken and it is _wrongwrongwrong_ and he can do nothing to fix it.

He knows his soul can help.The Orange Aspect he’s always held can do something here, though he’s spent so long suppressing it that it feels odd to use it instead of the Indigo and Blue he finds so easy to use.Seireitei doesn’t promote the use of them aside from using them to determine personality, and Indigo and Blue saw him shoved right into the Onmi.

It’s why he was tapped as captain of the 12th, though he didn’t want it.

His Orange Aspect hurts people.That’s why he doesn’t use it.

He doesn’t try to reach out.He goes to the lobby instead, because if he does, and he Burns the other, it will only do more harm than good.And this soul isn’t alone, so he doesn’t want to alert the criminal elements of the world to his presence; not without good reason.The other soul with them is no Shinigami, but he’s every bit as dangerous.

You learn a lot living in the Human World for nearly 80 years.)

In the lobby there are two people that immediately stand out — one of them is the source of the reiatsu.A dark, roiling mass, trapped within a single form — a walking, living storm, constantly roiling and changing, clouds obscuring his sense of the man’s emotions.This man’s hair is brilliant purple, his eyes a much darker violet hue with a hint of red in them, and he’s got several piercings, and — surprise, surprise, a _kidou_ is layered over his physical appearance — which, when Kisuke looks deeper, is hiding sharpened cheekbones, several scars, and cat’s eyes.He’s also wearing makeup, and the outfit is completed with a purple leather biker’s suit.Hope’s Link is wrapped around his upper left arm.

(He knows this is who he’s here to meet.Dressing as a biker draws a lot of attention, but the smile on his face is a mask, and a very, very clever one.The more obnoxious his dress, the less likely people are to think he’s dangerous.

That means he’s been trained, either by Yoruichi or Kisuke himself.Though he doesn’t recognize the Shinigami, that might also be the point.Especially if his companion, completely human, doesn’t know any better.)

Following behind him is an obviously foreign man with spiky, long blond hair and blue eyes just slightly off from normal — they remind him of the Blue Aspect that Kisuke holds.He’s dressed in blue jeans and a button-down plaid shirt, and he’s sort of half-hanging off the back of the oddly-dressed man’s shoulder, though he isn’t saying a word.

(Hm.He looks like he might be French, not German.Kisuke revises his estimate when he notes the particularly strong Blue Aspect the man holds — he’s definitely not dealing with an amateur here.Those grey eyes of his are cold and almost lifeless, belying a much greater danger — and possibly, a reputation.

They flicker to his companion with barely-disguised concern and fear.

Now Kisuke’s intrigued.

The biker’s smile shifts to something more relaxed, and Kisuke feels the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, even in a reinforced _gigai_.)

The purple-haired biker looks up and Kisuke recognizes him, vaguely, from the circus he found televised a few years ago.Shinji had been the one to recommend following the shows to him, and Kisuke’d almost ignored them until Skull de Mort — of course, _that’s_ why he knows the name — joined the circus. 

_The Immortal Stuntman, hm?Perhaps there’s more to him than I thought.Clever mask, but the Seireitei would’ve cottoned on if there wasn’t more going on here._

Originally, he’d just thought the man was insanely lucky or perhaps a rogue shinigami who’d turned to become part of the circus.Or perhaps a lucky stunt double who’d developed a healing factor.Now he knows the man’s secret — he’s a Shinigami, and therefore death can’t hold him the way it does a human.

(In a way, it makes sense that he’s a Shinigami, but with the storm so firmly lodged in his soul, Kisuke has the feeling it is _so much more_ than that.A part of him _reaches_ and Kisuke has to strangle it, because he will not _take_ the way that part of him wants to.

The way Aizen does.

He is not Aizen.

He will not force anyone into a bond with him, false or true, and he will not Burn anyone else.)

Skull’s amused smile turns sharp as his eyes land on Kisuke, clearly recognizing him.

“Urahara-san,” and now Kisuke can see the Link, wrapped tightly around the man’s upper arm — violet, black, white, and red, which indicate a mixture of Aspects — with his own orange pulsing beneath the kanji of _Hope_.

(Hope has been etched into the Link by someone whose signature Kisuke doesn’t know.

He doesn’t know if he can take asking who it belongs to when he feels the signature of Aspects on it.Multiple Orange Aspects, pure and whole and right, and one of them is his.Not the dominant one.

He knows he doesn’t deserve it.The Violet Aspect, edged in Black, is so _pure_ , so whole, it draws him in.

He’s fascinated.

He’s never going to be able to let this man go.)

“Skull de Mort,” he nods back, “You wished to speak with me?”

Skull smiles “Yes.Ah — this is my associate, Colonello.He’s here with me as we were completing a job for our previous employer.He’ll be leaving soon.”

“Because we’re _late_ , kora,” Colonello grumbles with an obvious French accent. “And you never said you weren’t coming with me.”

Skull raises an eyebrow “I’m not coming with you.Happy?This is far more important.Go home, Colonello.I have a job.”

Intrigued, Kisuke turns back to Skull, only to see something sharp and fierce _flit_ across his face — and a faint hint, however small, of Hollow reiatsu.One of Aizen’s experiments?In the future, he hopes — surely he wouldn’t trust his Link to one of Aizen’s own agents.

_Unless I was forced to give it up._

The thought is chilling, but Kisuke’s intuition insists Skull is on his side.Even Aizen hasn’t been able to fool his intuition.Nothing really has, after all these years.Not even the worst people he’s ever met.

(He wishes he’d learned that when he was younger.It would’ve saved him so much heartache.)

“Reborn won’t accept this,” Colonello says, looking between them.

“He will from me,” Skull says, rolling his eyes. “If you’re worried, go call ahead and explain I’ve got a secondary job.Our employer knows.” The dismissal is so obvious Kisuke doesn’t know how the other man doesn’t miss it. “I have another mission to complete. If you have personal business with her, then go home to her.”

Colonello looks between the two of them, and Kisuke adopts his best ‘harmless’ smile when the other meets his eyes.He’s so obviously confused and wants to ask, but he’s also part of the underworld.The mafia, if he’s not wrong about Skull’s current employer — which means he won’t ask.No one does in their line of work.

(It’s also very clear that Colonello thinks Skull is the civilian, of the two of them, from how he’s reacting with his Aspect.He’s trying to protect Skull, when Skull needs no such thing.

Sad, but funny.Skull’s fooled him completely.His Omni training must be very good; Kisuke’s impressed.)

“You sure?” Colonello drops into Italian, clearly expecting Kisuke not to know it. “Skull…”

Skull answers in flawless Italian, “I’m certain.He is one of my informants and I’ve met him before; you’ve just never interacted with him.This is a job I was contracted for _privately,_ outside the lines of our group.If you’re that worried about it call ahead or leave without me — I’ll deal with the others myself, Reborn included.”

Reborn.Now there’s a name Kisuke knows — the World’s Greatest Hitman.

(The man is no match for him or any other Shinigami, but for a human, he’s remarkably strong.Colonello pales, looking a little shaken.Skull just looks like the cat that caught the canary and is having a very hard time not giving it away.

Kisuke thinks he can see how he came to trust such a man — he can recognize his own training in how Skull’s acting.Skull, or whoever he really is, is one of _his_ students — it’s why Kisuke gave him the Link.

He had to be desperate to give his Link to a student, though.

He’ll be on the lookout for the hitman, now, and he’ll have to ask Skull who the others are later.Especially if they’ll cause trouble for him down the road.)

“He’ll kill you,” Colonello tries.

Skull shrugs “Then that’s my business, isn’t it?” he gives Colonello a wide, harmless smile. “I’m used to it.You should go home.Besides, Lal’s probably waiting for you.You should at least go call her to make sure she isn’t about to descend on you like a mother hen and you _know_ Viper doesn’t like to be kept waiting.Time is money, after all, and you’re likely wasting theirs.”

Colonello grumbles something like ‘and it’s my money you’re wasting,’ under his breath, and stalks off, glaring at them both.He leaves Skull to sit in the corner with Kisuke, keeping a watchful eye on them both.A flare of reiatsu — strong, powerful, and pure — from Skull breaks the camera flies that have followed Kisuke, and something Colonello has left behind.

(A monitoring device of some sort, perhaps?He should look into making something like that instead of piloting Aizen’s camera-flies.

Yoruichi’s going to kill him later.He left without a note.

 _Crap._ )

Then Skull looks Kisuke dead in the eye.

(He’s a little impressed.The man’s been taught well.His face is almost completely expressionless, like Kisuke’s was during his days in the Onmi, and he knows about the camera-flies and has the finesse to destroy them all at once.This is not a shinigami he’s ever met, but now he’s curious, as that level of training couldn’t possibly have come from Aizen.

Aizen has never trusted anyone even remotely close to this much.

What could have possibly prompted him to give this man his Link, student or not?)

Skull smiles as they sit in the two armchairs in the corner of the lobby.

His day gets even more interesting when the impossible man casts a high level _bakudou_ , high enough level to keep someone from overhearing or reading their lips about what they’re talking about — one of Kisuke’s most recent inventions, which makes their lips difficult to read and their conversation innocuous.And it only adds more to his mystery.

Kisuke would only have taught one of _his_ students that, though he knows he’s never taken one.

“So, Skull de Mort,” Kisuke says, letting his hat shadow his eyes and smiling, watching him for any hint of a threat. “What could have prompted me to give you an experimental project involving my Link?And how do you know a _bakudou_ I personally developed two years ago?”

Skull, impossibly enough, chuckles. “So I’m that far back.This is experimental right now,” he slips the armband off carefully, revealing changes to it and how it’s morphed in contact with his body — red and violet, complimentary and intertwining, with orange and white cover the Link — could it be that Skull has _two_ powerful Aspects? “Are you familiar with the Gesso Famiglia?”

Kisuke grimaces.He’s more than familiar with them, with the amount of reality-bending they’ve been doing lately.

They’re idiots playing with the powers of deities, and they’ve been handed nuclear weapons.Working with one of them is like giving a loaded gun to a toddler who doesn’t even understand what death means. 

Not even the Shinigami want to tangle with them, not unless they have to.The last time they tangled with the Gesso, they’d had to put down the last Substitute Shinigami, Yoruichi’s lover Kuugo Ginjou. 

“Unfortunately, yes.The current Gesso head has already tried to contact me to convince me an alliance is in my best interests, and did not take kindly to my rejection.He — wrongly — believes me to be an errant Gesso family member and wants to bring me into the fold.After I told him no, he said he would be in touch.”

“Hm.You are and you aren’t, in a way, and he’s not the head; he’s the uncle of the current head, who’s also the boss of the Giglio Nero,” Skull says, and Kisuke snaps open a fan to hide his surprise. “Although that’s not something you’re — shit.I’m sorry; I keep forgetting how much you don’t know yet.” He sighs, looking almost sad. “Some days I wish I’d made Ichi take this.”

(And what in the world could that mean?He sits up a little straighter, as Skull keeps talking.)

“The short of it is that we were losing.In…more than one time.It’s still a bit muddled for me, but what happened to me is this; in one timeline, you gave me this,” he taps the _Hope_ Link, “And I used it to reopen the links between myself, my Arrancar, and my zanpakutou spirit.I’m not part-Quincy, so I couldn’t fuse the way I should have, but I did my damn best with what I had.You…originally intended to give it to Kurosaki Ichigo, our trump card, our — battlefield commander.He matched a god, for _years_ , before we realized it was a fruitless endeavor.Before everything went to hell.Every time we were losing he’d pull a solution out of his ass and _keep fighting_.But things went wrong,” his eyes are old, shadowed, and pained. Kurosaki must’ve been his Orange. “So you gave it to me and sacrificed your life to bring an end to the thing that killed him.” His gaze grows sad, wistful even and far away. “In another timeline, roughly around the same time, but due to a different set of circumstances, Skull de Mort, the amnesiac Cloud Arcobaleno, or Violet Aspect Arcobaleno, is trapped in an apocalyptic future brought around by Byakuran, head of the Gesso famiglia.Byakuran’s gone mad with the power of the dimension-hopping Mare Rings he’s supposed to be guarding and goes ballistic, destroying the world with his Six Funeral Wreaths.He’s also a cocky bastard who didn’t check me twice.I survived the Arcobaleno curse by virtue of simply having too much _reiatsu_ , but my soul was sealed from me by Checkerface, who you might know as Kawahira of the Gesso Famiglia.To make a long story short,” and here Skull bares his teeth in a sharp grin, “In both timelines I pulled a sacrifice play to end the timeline.And the Link activated on one, while in the other, I destroyed the Mare Rings _and_ the Pacifiers in a chain reaction using the Cloud Pacifier.”

The information is startling, but not as surprising as he admits he expected.It makes _sense_ , after all, for all he doesn’t know and can’t imagine loving someone enough to die for them.Yoruichi at one point, before this banishment to the Human World, but beyond that?He knows absolutely nothing about this.

(The amount of power it would take to destroy even one part of the Tri-Ni-Sette has him sitting up and taking note.This is a very, _very_ strong Violet sitting in front of him.One who has thrown off chains of servitude and slavery not unlike Kisuke’s own.

And something about his Aspect feels very similar to Kisuke’s.Enough so that maybe, Kisuke’s Orange won’t hurt him.)

Kawahira had become a patron of his shop in the last year and, though he was somewhat mad, he was interesting and a decent _shogi_ opponent, though he was frustrating to deal with.The being probably thought he could get Kisuke to become part of the Giglio Nero or Gesso if he tried for long enough.To hear that he’d organized one of the Quincy’s stopgap measures to keep the balance of the world, that he actually acted as the Arcobaleno Overseer — well, that explains why he’s so unnerved by Kisuke’s lack of care about his age or appearance; he probably knows Kisuke’s an ex-Shinigami or an exiled soul.The Tri-Ni-Sette guardians have to come from somewhere, and that certainly explains his odd behavior.

(Though it doesn’t explain tapping a Shinigami as one of the Tri-Ni-Sette.Surely he knew it wouldn’t work right?Unless he wants to punish the Shinigami for what they did to his people.)

He likely believed Kisuke’s Indigo Aspect was his only one, given what little Kisuke understood of Aspects’ manifestations in the Human world.Kisuke had sensed a similar one from Kawahira upon their first meeting, and has since then.Indigo is easy to use to mask others, after all, so Kisuke’s been using only Indigo since Kawahira’s first visit, just in case.

(And on the off chance Kawahira’s working with Aizen or a being like him, Kisuke won’t hand him any more weapons or bargaining chips to use.)

The fond note in his voice when he spoke of Quincies says he knew a couple Quincies, and isn’t prejudiced against them — and there’s also a bit of Rukongai accent in his voice.Just a little bit, but enough to tell Kisuke that he, like Kisuke, is from a higher numbered district.Given the animosity Rukon brats tend to develop towards Quincies, who cause a lot of trouble in the districts ranked above 50, that’s surprising.

He hasn’t said as much outright, but there’s a lot not being said in most of what he’s given Kisuke.And Kisuke himself, in his future — well, he’d clearly come to care about this Kurosaki Ichigo (an Orange, part-Quincy and part-Shinigami from the sounds of it, maybe part-Hollow too but Kisuke doesn’t want to think about that) enough to sacrifice himself to destroy what killed the man — and he hasn’t cared about anyone like that for _years_. 

(He has two people he will sacrifice himself for; three, counting Shinji.Yoruichi, Shinji, and Tessai.)

The most disturbing part, though, is hearing that Skull was sealed from his own soul, his zanpakutou torn from him by the person who tapped him as an Arcobaleno.Likely with the same Indigo Aspect that both Aizen and Kawahira favored.Sacrifice was necessary for the Hope Link to work, but not to this extent.

(And the Tri-Ni-Sette don’t work on someone who is already dead.Though Kawahira likely wouldn’t know that, given how little information the Arcobaleno Administrator was likely given to ensure his loyalty.He sure as hell wouldn’t understand that a zanpakutou would keep their wielder from succumbing to it.

Quincies never learn to listen to their own souls.It’s a sad truth, because if they did, they might be able to learn to send souls on instead of completely destroying them, but they believe destruction is necessary.Not salvation or reincarnation.)

“Were you one of mine?” Kisuke asks, snapping his fan closed. “Or were you an ally?”

Skull snorts “At first, I didn’t know you much, or like you.Then you beat my ass into the ground, and then Ichigo broke me out of prison — Muken — after I’d been Hollowfied by Aizen.There’re two ways to ensure your Hollow doesn’t overcome you — the first was the Vizard’s way of doing it and yeah, I was one of Hirako’s students at one point, too.And Muguruma’s, but that’s beside the point.Their current method doesn’t work for long and leaves you with a crazy part of your brain trying to pop up and take over at any opportunity.So I’m gonna offer them the one you and Ichigo taught me, given time, and if you’ll let me.The other method is this; beat the crap out of the Hollow until it forces them to evolve into an Arrancar spirit, because Arrancar can reason with you and Hollows _can’t._ Sombra sure as fuck got a lot easier to deal with after that, since he could finally _think_ , and Ichigo later admitted to me his zanpakutou spirit was dual and half of it was Arrancar, so he also had a much easier time dealing with it,” Skull shrugs, as Kisuke stares at him, mouth open in surprise.

Beat the crap out of them until they evolve.

The method is so insane it shouldn’t work.But those Hollows within the Vizards, they were created by the Hougyouku and it had unlimited potential.So why wouldn’t they?

Why _shouldn’t_ they be able to evolve without consuming other Hollows?

“And how do I know you’re telling the truth?” Kisuke asks, though he’s about ninety-nine percent sure Skull is.

His Intuition hardly lies.

Skull raises an eyebrow “You made it possible for me to achieve _bankai_ , removed the brainwashing put on me _twice_ and I know more about your zanpakutou — and her bankai — than I ever wanted to at the time because our sword-spirits are best friends, or were.My spirit’s even _more_ bloodthirsty than yours, believe it or not, because she doesn’t care how much blood she gets, just that it gets to her somehow.I have to injure myself if the fight’s not good enough to satisfy her.If you really thought I was lying to you, you’d have beat the crap out of me by now or killed me in a permanent way.Aizen and Yhwach took _everything_ from me, and so did Checkerface,” his voice is almost a whisper and Kisuke thinks he hears the faint rattling of chains. His voice deepens, overlaid by his Arrancar’s, **“And if you think I’m working with any of them, I want some of what you’re smoking, because it’s gotta be one _hell_ of a drug.”**

He recognizes the stronger Rukongai cant in the man’s words now.He’s from one of the South Districts, probably Seventy-Five or Seventy-Six, though Kisuke has the feeling he lied to the Academy about which district.And there’s banked fire, like _wrath_ , in his eyes when he’s talking about Aizen and Yhwach. 

(A part of Kisuke shivers at the very idea of Yhwach turning on them, of him coming back.That monster has been gone for longer than Kisuke’s been _alive_.It’s no wonder Skull was sent back instead of Kisuke if that thing showed up on the battlefield.)

Kisuke smiles, and silently acknowledges he’s in the presence of a Violet whose territory has been threatened.The Violet in question hasn’t named the territory, but he doesn’t need to; it’s obvious from how he’s acting.

He can see how this man became one of his.The glowing red eye on black sclera, now replacing the man’s right eye, is proof enough that this man knows _exactly_ what he’s talking about.Then he says a few words, releasing another _bakudou_ Kisuke remembers inventing for the Vizards, and Kisuke has to find his words again because they freeze in his throat at the sight.

He knows those scars, for all there are way too many of them now.He knows that hair.

He knows that tattoo.

How the fuck has _Hisagi Shuuhei_ , the _kid_ that Muguruma rescued all those years ago, ended up the lynchpin of his war with Aizen?

Apparently he says this out loud, because Shuuhei answers him.

“Tousen Kaname brainwashed me, used my loyalty to divide my soul in one timeline.In another, I never realized why I was so rebellious yet loyal,” Skull’s, no, _Shuuhei’s_ voice is soft, but it is not kind. It is the sound of a predator whispering over dry, cracked paper and Kisuke feels the chill radiating off him, and hears a very faint rattling of chains. “He made me fear my own _soul_.I nearly lost Kazeshini for good because of him and because of _Kawahira_.Kawahira thought it was funny to wipe my memories, seal my soul, and put me into his system as the Cloud Arcobaleno, the Violet Aspect, when I was supposed to help him reform the system and remove his privileges as Administrator.He wanted vengeance on the people that killed his family, and instead he got _me_ ,” his smile is as cold as his eyes, which are wintry and cold, and Kisuke’s own fury rises to match him.

Kawahira has always come off as mad, but to mutilate someone’s soul for his own ends is _going too far_.Kisuke would never have split a soul that way, never have tried to divide it even with his own twisted morals, and he’s furious that someone would try.Okay, maybe a bit _more_ than he should be, considering his Orange Aspect is pushing him right over anger and toward fury — because Shuuhei is _his_ , and this monster sought to _take_ and — Kisuke strangles the impulse with considerable difficulty.

(He wants to bond so badly.So, so badly.But he will not take, no matter how much he wants, without permission.It will only hurt both of them if he does.)

Shuuhei smiles, and though it’s small, it relaxes a part of Kisuke he didn’t recognize was bristling until now. “I was one of yours, Kisuke.But I was also one of Ichigo’s, and one of Shinji’s.Three in harmony are the ones I bonded to at the time — I’m strong and I’m _rare_ , and I consider you all my Oranges, so I Harmonized with more than one.It’s almost impossible for me to be satisfied enough to just settle down.Almost impossible, ’s why Tousen had to brainwash me for _decades_ to accept his authority, the fucker.I’m an Invert Violet and Classic Red, with secondary Indigo and Orange, which makes me a Polarized Invert Maelstrom —and consequently, I’m immune to Aizen’s illusions.”

“You’re what.” Kisuke’s lost this conversation about when the man said ‘Invert Violet and Classic Red,’ “What’s a — wait, wait.Most Violets have a territory,” he starts, trying to make sense of this. “Inverts — I’ve never even _heard_ of them.”

“The Gotei don’t really recognize Inverts.We either get killed because we don’t conform to a system, or we adapt and use our secondaries; in most cases, we’re mis-characterized, and no one asks twice,” Shuuhei explains. “Classic Violets have a place in the hierarchy.The organization lets them hold some freedom, but with the understanding that they protect their territory, Seireitei, and bow to the Orange leader, Yama.Inverts, well…it’s a lot closer to Orange, one of my secondaries.Inverted Violets tend to have Orange or Indigo secondaries and so we either enter the Onmi, become captains, or we die for our territory—our people.” Kisuke’s breath stops in his throat for a second at the thought. “But some of us Inverts are clever.Some of us hide our true nature, as I did.As Kuchiki Rukia does.The Academy thought I was a Classic Red because I struggled so much with my Violet instincts — just assumed I had a secondary Violet, which added to my protective instincts.They were wrong.” He bares his teeth “Just as Red is me, so is Violet — but no one thinks to look twice if you’re classified as a Classic Red, because you’re loyal to a fault.”

Oh, absolutely, because this man is anything but a Classic Red.Still, he can feel the crackling stormclouds around the man if he tries, and unlike most Inverts he seems totally comfortable with — well, this duality.It usually hurts the duality — or he’s been taught that.

(He’s not sure what he’s been taught is all that useful.Especially since it’s clear their system doesn’t work quite right.)

“For me, this is part of who I am, now,” Shuuhei shrugs. “It started back when I got Kazeshini’s _bankai_.The — it’s hard to explain, but I can — use her power, and Sombra’s, with this to poke holes in illusions I don’t want to be trapped in because of the Red-Violet fusion.Violet allows for propagation, but Red is destruction — and so if I find a single weak point, and there always is one, I can propagate it outward.It’s the equivalent of chaining me, and that stopped working right around the time Aizen tried to _bankai_ us all with Kyouka Suigetsu,” he bares his teeth, and Kisuke believes him.

Inverted Aspects aren’t really taught about in the Academy — there are just different behaviors present across different Aspects, and no two are ever the same.Oranges tend to end up in leadership positions regardless of behavior — it’s one reason he was so quickly picked for 12th Division’s Captain after the previous captain retired — but it’s just as often that Violets or Blues do.Reds tend to make very good lieutenants, but not always, and Greens and Yellows just as often wind up frontline fighters as they do medics.Greens are energetic, but relaxed, whereas Yellows tend to be hyper-energetic or hyper-focused.

There are classic behaviors that define each Aspect’s personality, and often carry over into their zanpakutou’s powers, but they’re not inherent.The Gotei prides itself on its ‘equality’ across Aspects. 

Though, in all honesty, if Kisuke didn’t know better, he would look at Shuuhei as a Red or a Blue.His behavior and his zanpakutou (or what Kisuke knows of it) are more fitting for both, than the idea of him being a Violet.

Especially not a Violet-Red mix. 

(Sitting here, he can _feel_ the strength of Shuuhei’s Will, of his spirit, and just how wrong his first impression is.Shuuhei is like the eye of a particularly powerful hurricane, a barrier of Violet-Red barring entry to anyone who doesn’t push.Kisuke won’t; he can’t bear to force that on anyone—and he doubts Shuuhei will offer to him because, for all he’s strong, he’s not strong _enough_.

No matter how much he wants to be, he’ll never be enough.)

“So, long and short of it, I’m gonna need your help,” Shuuhei says, and Kisuke snaps his attention back to the other. “And before I forget, ya moron, walking around with only two bonds — a Blue and a Green — ain’t all that healthy.You’re one of mine, but you’re gonna have to share me — think you can do it?”

If it’s with Shinji, yes — they’re already somewhat in a two-way partnership bond, but it’s a badly fractured thing, held together by desperation and threadbare hope rather than trust.This, this is something _more_ — this is _trust_ Shuuhei’s offering him, with a single condition.

_Share me._

Such a simple condition for such powerful trust.

Kisuke is going to have to share. That’s — not something he’s used to — but he can deal with it, and he certainly doesn’t want to _hurt_ his Violet.

At least he isn’t as territorial as some Indigos — and if someone tries to poach, he’ll have a lot of fun burning the intruder (not-Shinji and not-their mystery ally) to death because Shuuhei is _his_.That alone makes him hesitate, as the Flames of Hell burn hotter than any Will Flames and he doesn’t want to hurt his Violet. 

He’s not sure he can stand sharing the man with anyone he doesn’t trust, either.

“As pleasant as the offer is, who would I be sharing you with?I do hope it’s not the other Tri-Ni-Sette,” he says, opening his fan again to try and disguise his worry.

Shūhei rolls his eyes “Please, I burnt Luce’s Flames when she tried to take me.She tried to force me; I don’t respond well to _chains_.And Kawahira’s not an Orange, or Sky as they call them.He tries to chain me to Luce or Byakuran, and I’m going to burn his fucking house down, rip out his spine, and beat him to death with it.You’d be sharin’ me — and mind, this will take awhile, seeing as you, I trust more than anyone else, right now,” (Kisuke can’t help but preen at this), “With Shinji and, when he’s born, Kurosaki Ichigo.Maybe also with Sawada Tsunayoshi, ‘cause the potential was there in the broken timeline and he took down Byakuran.He’s one of the strongest Oranges I know, but I need to give him space and a lot of help, because he was Flame-Sealed by an idiot at the age of five.” Kisuke has to restrain a growl, even as one builds in Shuuhei’s throat.

A Flame Seal is illegal for a _reason_ and even in Seireitei, they haven’t figured out how to permanently seal someone’s soul.It’s a punishment reserved for those in the highest level of Muken.And someone sealed a _child_ , and at the age of _five_ no less?

(That’s beyond even Aizen, most days, though Kisuek wouldn’t put it past him.)

“I know,” Shuuhei says, grimacing. “I’m going to keep a very close eye on his parents to make sure it doesn’t happen again.They’re in Namimori Prefecture—just don’t run afoul of the Hibari clan while we’re there; I don’t want to deal with sharing you with one of them.I’ll tell you more about them another time.Just, for now, remember that they’re part of the Triads,” he explains, and Kisuke nods. “Primarily, at least for the first year, I’d be yours.Just, um — be careful.I’m…a lot stronger than I should be, and I don’t want to hurt you.I know you have some kinda rudimentary bond with Shinji, so he’d end up sharing me once I beat this into him, but if you two end up courting your third properly, you’ll be nigh-unstoppable together.” He smiles, lopsided and jaunty.

Kisuke’s breath catches in his throat at the sight and for a moment he almost forgets his control.There’s a catch; there has to be.No one just _offers_ to him, to Urahara Kisuke, the madman, the traitor — and yet Hisagi Shuuhei just has.And he’s slipping off his glove in preparation to bond with Kisuke.

And he says he’ll beat this into _Shinji_.

Meaning he trusts Kisuke over Shinji.

That’s not something anyone, bar Yoruichi and Tessai, have ever said about Kisuke before.

He’s going to be the _primary Orange_ in this bond.

(And even they don’t trust him this much.Not since the Vizard incident.)

“You know what I am,” Kisuke says slowly, closing his fan. “Are you sure you won’t be burnt by me?”

Shuuhei’s laugh is oddly discordant, rattling with chains and wind, “You only burn the guilty, Kisuke.You won’t hurt me, and neither will Hime.Pass along for me that Kaze wants a spar?She’s missed her sparring partner desperately.”

 _Another thing we have in common,_ thinks Kisuke, before he blinks.

(He’s suspected echoes could pass back in time with him, but this is beyond an echo.This might just give them the edge they need.If he gets more than simple impressions from the Link, maybe even some memories…he has no doubt this will give him something like that, but even without that, this second chance is a priceless gift.)

Shuuhei holds out his hand with a confident, easy smile.

A gesture of _trust_.Shown to _him_.

Benihime croons out a song-like sound in the back of his mind, a note of want and need in her voice and his soul aches.

(Kisuke wants, he wants so badly to take Shuuhei’s hand but he’s been burned before.He’s only had two successful Harmonies in his life and it’s with his longtime friends Yoruichi and Tessai.Any Violet or Red who’s tried to bond with him has been seared by his Flame.Seared so badly they enter the cycle of reincarnation.

He’s never told anyone that, but he can see that Shuuhei knows.

Knows and is still willing to trust him.

If anyone can handle it, it’s the Immortal stuntman, the man who Death hates, a Vizard who has been tossed through time due to a last-ditch hopeful project of Kisuke’s.A man who trusted in his invention at the very end of his life and who, with two timelines’ worth of memories, is choosing to trust in Kisuke to get them through this war alive.

Trusting in Kisuke to get them through this alive.

It’s staggering, honestly, but Shuuhei _knows_ him and a part of Kisuke knows Shuuhei, knows something is easing this and he has to think it’s the Sky, the Orange Aspect of Shuuhei’s own Will readying to bond with him. 

If this goes badly, it could kill both of them.

If this goes well, Shuuhei’s going give him everything he needs to stop Aizen.And he’s not condemning Kisuke for not seeing through Aizen.

He’s not condemning Kisuke at all.He’s offering acceptance and warmth and Harmony.Benihime wants this just as badly as he does.

That’s all he needs to let go and trust him.)

He takes the other’s hand and lets all of his Aspects flare to life, Hell Flames joining them as they race over his hands, tinged in gold and crackling with black lightning. 

He has never been dishonest about what he is, for all his shame of being a former _togabito_.His soul cannot, _does not_ lie about this — not to himself and not to Benihime, his partner ( _his friend his blade his very heart_ ).

He almost jerks back in surprise when Shuuhei _laughs_ as Kisuke’s Hell Flames climb up his body, intertwining with the scorching black Flames of Night — Flames of Death, the Black Flames Shinji only developed after becoming a Vizard, Flames Kisuke normally can’t stand to touch — and the white of the other’s Arrancar’s reiatsu and Shuuhei’s own, with the red and violet-streaked black.Twin voices laugh with him, one the sound of a wind with chains rattling and the other, a bird of prey, and a _fucking huge one_ , or possibly a monster.

He isn’t sure, but neither sounds like it will hurt him.It’s reassuring enough that he lets, _feels_ Benihime laugh with him though for all he tries she’s still somewhat broken from the improper Hougyouku Aizen used on them both. 

(This is so different from his Harmonies with his other friends.He doesn’t know what to make of it.)

Eldritch power flows from the link into him in a sudden rush, _firefirefire_ melding into _wind-death-chains-freedom_ and Kisuke falls and falls _hard_ , caught in true Harmony.His eyes close and he finds himself in the midst of a Hurricane, Flames and reiatsu intertwining with his as the storm laughs, clouds whipping past his face and throwing him into the Eye, tossing him around and around and he soars through it into the open Skies as his Flame encompasses Shuuhei’s — but not quite, leaving him room to move, to grow — giving him the freedom he so desperately needs to thrive.

Offering him strength without taking, a Sky open wide for him to soar through and grow in, and grow beyond if need be.

His Aspect, warm and open and searingly hot, opens itself and the storm _roars_ in tandem with his own soul as Hell Fire rains through the Sky and joins with the Hurricane in joy.

(He’s never felt this before.Never.Not even with Yoruichi, whose bond to him is, he thought, as close as he’s ever gotten to true Harmony.

He was wrong. _This_ is true Harmony.

He’s never felt so free.)

The world goes white as Kisuke feels his Links uncurl and _tie_ , tie not bind, and Shuuhei _lets him_ , feeling the chains in Shuuhei’s own soul tie with the Chains of Hell, and _oh._

_This is what freedom feels like, and Kisuke is flying for the first time in centuries._

_Benihime and Kisuke ascend through the skies on wings of fire as they soar through the hurricane, and it is like they’ve never been broken in the first place.They’ve never been closer.His Bankai is whole again, Violet sealing the holes and Red shoring up the edges before it’s all reconstructed with Violet around its strengths, and Benihime’s laugh echoes through his._

_The pain in his soul fades._

_The Hougyouku’s damage is undone._

_They are whole again._

_And the world will tremble._

_The fury in the eye of the Polar Maelstrom in the Misty, Cloudy Sky is finally matched by a roaring fury from Kisuke’s own, by the Fires of Hell and the Earth that bind Kisuke’s nature and Benihime lets out a victory cry as a bird of prey — Sombra — circles overhead on a wind that sounds and feels of death._

_It feels wonderful to be whole again._

He comes back to himself with a start to see Shuuhei grinning at him, hand still tightly held in Kisuke’s, and a single _kanji_ etched across the back of Kisuke’s hand.The _kanji_ for Hope.

Memories that are and aren’t his thrum in the back of his mind, some sixty-odd years of them, and Benihime laughs as they spin through his mind to fill in the holes, and Kisuke smiles, older and wiser. 

He isn’t that Kisuke, not anymore, but he’s not the Kisuke that arrived here looking for Skull de Mort, either.That Kisuke is gone.

He’s a different Kisuke—one who knows what did and didn’t work, one who remembers sacrificing himself and remembers loving to the point of desperation.One who knows that they need a new strategy, or they will both die and Aizen and Kawahira will succeed, or failing that, Yhwach will.

“General,” says Shuuhei, and Kisuke smirks.

“Sky,” he corrects and with a final squeeze, Kisuke sees that the same _kanji_ is inked across the back of Shuuhei’s hand. “What do you say we get down to business?”

“Sounds like fun,” says Shuuhei, dropping his hand, but the Flames remain and Kisuke basks in their warmth, trusting in Benihime to sort through the memories and the mess they’ll make.

He’ll go over them with Shuuhei later.Shuuhei will have the battlefield experience, the grounding and the understanding to help him fill in the gaps.But for now, business means discussing the timeline, and what changes they have to make.

He’s looking forward to it. 

For the first time since his exile, he feels hopeful.Hopeful that they, with Shuuhei’s help, have an actual _chance_ against what’s coming, to see the other side of it with the world intact, instead of broken. 

To see the other side of it at all is going to take a miracle.

He’s already pulled off one miracle with the time travel.And with that, he can probably pull off at least one more, maybe two.Shuuhei’s eyes meet his and they smile at the exact same time, reading each other’s minds.

_We have a chance._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, Kisuke is not a traditional togabito. For anyone familiar with Bleach: Hellverse, that is where this is inspired from, and the Togabito WILL make an appearance, but Kisuke is not a traditional one. There's a bit more to his powers than that. 
> 
> Think about it this way: There is a reason Aizen did everything he could to cut Kisuke off at the knees and blind him and cripple him. Kisuke is a genius, and very powerful; that wasn't something Aizen could afford to have turned against him so originally he tried to get Kisuke on his side. When that didn't work, he had to cripple Kisuke to the point that the other man was on his level, or Kisuke could've beaten him pretty handily at any point over the one hundred years of Kisuke's exile.
> 
> All of the Aspects in Soul Society are named for their colors. There is no such thing as internal vs. external, Earth, Sky, etc. Those distinctions don't work when your inborn powers let you control fire, lightning, etc.; Flames just aren't that impressive, comparatively. It is mainly used as a means of establishing what powers you're likely to have, what roles you will fill well, and what your personality type is. 
> 
> Orange/Sky/Earth is used for commanders and maintains loyalty; Violet often makes for good protectors/guardians; Red is often ridiculously loyal like Hayato; Blue are natural assassins (Onmi); you get the idea. This will be expanded on in future chapters, but yes, they don't have any concept of inverted power types. 
> 
> Shuuhei's relationship with Kazeshini is like Ichigo's with Zangetsu because he spent decades going to war with his sword. Also, at this point in his life/undeath/whatever, he trusts her more than anyone else. This is something Kisuke hasn't managed yet, though Shuuhei's stepped straight out of a war zone and Kisuke hasn't.


	4. Chapter 4: Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kisuke and Shuuhei discuss things. Colonello is led astray.   
> Weird bonding headcanons are within.
> 
> Also, yes, I know where the pairings are going, but Skull needs time to figure out what's happened and Flame bonds of this strength are incredibly rare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skull is pretty laid-back about everything. Shuuhei is, too.
> 
> Settling in a bond is difficult for anyone.
> 
> Hellfire flames are possessive and so are Night flames, but Day ones are even stranger. 
> 
> And yes, somewhere in Italy Reborn's chaos-sense is tingling. 
> 
> It's early 1970s, y'all. We still have at least three decades before things kick off into war.

He’s already pulled off one miracle with the time travel.And with that, he can probably pull off at least one more, maybe two.With Kisuke here, Shuuhei knows they have a chance to change it all.

He sees the age in his friend’s eyes the moment they meet again and Kisuke smiles that smile of his, the smile Shuuhei remembers from a future long-since dead.A future where Ichigo fell, protecting them.

(A future in which he never knew Ichigo flits past his mind’s eye and he feels his hands twitch, threatening to fist in his lap.No matter how much he wants to forgive Kawahira, for all the being will be a great help to them if he can sit down and convince the immortal to work with them, it won’t be easy. 

The Quincy stole everything from him, from _them_ , once upon a time.)

 _One of his pasts._ Not both.

And he won’t do it again.

(Come to think of it, it’s probably good that he hasn’t seen Kawahira yet.He might’ve killed the Quincy without thinking.No, he _would_ have.)

Kisuke had figured out how to use the Link to code his memories, the brilliant man. 

Of course he had; the man was one of the smartest people Shuuhei knew, former _togabito_ or not.He’s smart enough that even _Aizen_ feared crossing him at full strength — to the point that he went so far as to cripple Kisuke, hopefully for good (he knows Aizen doesn’t know that Violet and Red together can cure that sort of crippling assault on a Sky, or that a fledgling bond of this strength can seal the holes torn into someone’s soul) to keep him out of the fight.

Kisuke’s the smart one of his Skies.The planner, the genius; even of the triad of Skies he’d have in the future (or Oranges, as one could turn out to be born an Earth, but he highly doubts it’ll matter that much), Kisuke was the general and ultimately the one to come up with some of their crazier plans.And with the General at the helm, Shuuhei knows they have a chance.

Kisuke coding his memories into the Link means they’ll have the General at the helm of this war.The General who’d sacrificed everything to get them here; everything and more to get Shuuhei back in time.

(The General who even now is listening to his judgment on what to do with the people only Shuuhei remembers, because he is the amalgamation of two Shuuheis, two broken souls, rather than one.He suspects that’s why he has both a Sky and Mist as secondary aspects — they’re both of them aspects of one or the other Skull; Mist from his time as an Arcobaleno, and Sky from his time leading the war in Las Noches.)

He knows it won’t be enough. 

He knows Kisuke is probably the only one who can even get impressions of his own memories from the Link, but that’s more than Shuuhei has thought possible.He can see why Kisuke calls it the Hope Link.The bond between them is new and yet old, the knowledge of Aspects a completely new thing to his General, but it will take Kisuke all of three seconds to assimilate all that knowledge.

Then Kisuke starts crying and Shuuhei starts panicking a little. 

His General _never_ cries.

Did he _break Kisuke_ by bonding with him? 

Then he takes in the joyful smile, the warmth in his own chest, and reaches across to reassure his Sky, his General, _his leader_ that he still trusts in him.That Kisuke is his, and that his loyalty, such as it is, belongs to him.Kisuke doesn’t hesitate in taking his hand and squeezes it tightly.His Sky is a possessive one, and that is just fine with Shuuhei.

(Shuuhei can see through his _kidou_ illusion at the touch.He wonders if it’s the Flame bond, or how tightly his Flames are woven into Kisuke’s soul, now. 

The chain marks trailing up Kisuke’s hands are invisible to anyone else save maybe Yoruichi and Tessai, his other Guardians, and Shuuhei can see them right now.Can even feel their warmth as they brush against his own soul, but they don’t hurt him. 

They can’t.

They’re Kisuke’s, after all, and Kisuke would never hurt him.)

Sombra and Kazeshini settle somewhere inside Shuuhei’s soul, easing into the warmth of the new bond as one of their aching, broken edges is mended with the warmth and freedom Kisuke offers so freely.

His Harmony is returning at last.

(He needs his Skies to be whole.He needs them so desperately that having even one is more than enough and his instincts are _screaming_ at him to get Colonello _out_ of here because the Rain is a threat and _nothisnothisnothis_ , not anymore.

He’s going to have to work on that.)

He beams at Kisuke, because he wants this (needs this) and he knows that having his General back, knowing that his Sky trusts in him completely — his repaired Sky Intuition giving him the edge to his intellect that will make him _oh so terrifying_ in a way Aizen and Yhwach simply can’t match, though it’ll be close if either of them turns out to be a Sky, too — and knowing now, as Kisuke trusts him to keep an eye on their surroundings, that Kisuke’s Intuition goes much farther than that.

He realizes that now.

Kisuke didn’t just trust him enough to come look at him this time.His General — regardless of timeline — has spontaneously bound them together; he’s given Shuuhei a part of _his_ soul in return, Harmonized his secondary Cloud to Shuuhei’s secondary Sky.

(He’s surprised and touched by the gesture.He never expected Kisuke to bond back; to become one of _his_ the way he’s one of _Kisuke’s_.

He’s not really used to this.Skull was never treated so warmly by anyone save Tsunayoshi.

He’s not even really sure why he’s surprised anymore.

A part of him that was missing is back.Kisuke’s bond with him fits the bill of a Guardian just as it does a Sky, and the trust it implies is staggering — Kisuke trusts him more than any other Cloud in the world, more than anyone else to bond with.

And his Sky needs this to anchor him, in a way Yoruichi and Tessai never could.They’re leaders in their own way but Yoruichi’s Orange aspect just isn’t strong enough for her to bond with anyone stronger than she is, and she likes control far too much.) 

He’s balanced Shuuhei and given him an anchor at the same time as giving himself and Shuuhei a new lease on life.

(This is near-perfect Harmony with one of his Skies and a guarantee that no simple Famiglia will ever be able to take him away.That only his Skies may have him now.

Because a part of Kisuke’s _Hellfire Chains_ are now tied into Shuuhei’s very soul, just as Shuuhei’s own dark chains are bound into his, and it will take someone killing one of them and shattering their bond to break that.

Not that Shuuhei will ever let them get close enough to try.

And his Sky is pretty damn terrifying all by himself.Or is it his Cloud? 

He doesn’t know, and honestly, doesn’t really care.)

He hands Kisuke his handkerchief, blinking back tears of his own at the feeling of hope and trust in his heart, and the warmth it brings.

Harmony with someone that trusts him feels _so damn good.Especially_ now, knowing what they could have had, would have had if things were different in his timeline.Knowing that if Kisuke had believed Shuuhei could handle it, _he would have been Kisuke’s_.

(Feeling Kisuke’s unbroken zanpakutou through the bond is incredible.

He can’t imagine how it must feel to have Benihime back. 

He won’t let Aizen take her from them again.)

“I want you to keep this,” Kisuke says, nodding to the Link, wiping at his eyes. “It’s safer with you.Now — tell me, what have you already done, on your end?I need to know what I’m missing.Tri-ni-Sette first, and the timeline I don’t remember.”

Quickly, Shuuhei goes over what he’s already done regarding the Tri-Ni-Sette in this timeline, by returning.They’re about a month out from the Curse, and he’s already broken his part of it.Kazeshini and Sombra pull the relevant information to the surface for him, as right now they’re both basking in the Sky that Kisuke so freely gave them all, and Sombra is even trilling. 

Trilling in a way he hasn’t ever done before.

(The Sky that will fight and die before they are caged again.It feels right in a way nothing has in the years since Kisuke’s death.

He’s never letting this go.Ever. 

It will break them all if this is broken this time, and his Sky knows it just as Shuuhei does.)

He glances up.Colonello is squinting at them.The barrier _kidou_ will only keep them from being overheard, and belatedly, he remembers that the other can read lips.Anything he says here might get him into trouble from either Colonello or the Vindice.

Sitting back in his chair, he signs in code; _Blond Blue watch. Reading. Cafe?_

Kisuke blinks, glances up at Colonello, and then smiles “Of course.Shall we?” he gestures at the door and Shuuhei affixes his _kidou_ with a careful flick or three of the hands.

(Kisuke feels impressed and it’s all Shuuhei can do not to grin.His Sky taught him very, very well.)

“Of course.Anything nearby you like?” he asks, getting to his feet with a nod to Colonello, already feeling around for the Misty touch of Viper, who is no doubt going to be called in to spy on them.

“Leaving already?” calls Colonello, as they approach the door, and Kisuke turns just as Shuuhei does, forcibly clamping down on his own Flames and _reiatsu_ as Colonello’s Flames shift, almost menacing as he smiles. “Thought you were going to talk to Viper.We’ve got a ride to the airport in an hour.”

He takes a deep breath.

(Skull slides into place as soon as he blinks, his Flames shifting from vaguely Stormy Cloud to very, very Cloudy.He can tell Kisuke feels the shift, feels his own Sky tensing in response to the implied threat, and Skull adopts his brightest, most annoying smile.

It’s always better if they think you’re an idiot.

Even more so if Kawahira thinks he is.)

Skull chuckles “I told you I have work to do, Colonello,” he replies, shrugging. Kazeshini is giggling, and Sombra isn’t far behind her. “Go on without me.I’m busy, and it’s important.”

Colonello falters “Skull…” he starts “Our employer won’t like it.”

“Then he can come find me himself.Urahara-san’s a friend, and I owe him a favor,” Skull replies with a shrug.

Colonello gives Kisuke a very obvious once-over and dismisses him.

(Both his inner spirits are laughing and Shuuhei is on the inside, too.Colonello’s just been bought by Kisuke’s mask.

He has no idea what Kisuke can do.)

“Are you sure?You know he’ll probably kill you for showing up late,” Colonello deliberately doesn’t drop into Italian.

(Kisuke doesn’t blink.Of course he doesn’t. He just pretends.)

“I think I can handle it,” Skull says, shrugging. “I’m immortal, remember?”

Colonello scoffs.Kisuke just looks on, his expression a placid mask.

“You know no one believes that bullshit, Skull,” Colonello says, switching to Italian. “Please.Just come with me to check in.Your life’s less important than a favor.”

(It isn’t and this won’t be the last favor, but Colonello doesn’t have to know that.)

Skull’s smile brightens “Oh, but senpai,” he says, still in Japanese, “Skull-sama will be fine!” he pats Colonello on the arm “Really, I’m touched,” he switches back to a less annoying version of his voice, just to mess with the other, “But I told you.World’s strongest, I’ll be fine.”

Still in Italian, Colonello snorts “And your friend?”

Skull chuckles “He’s more dangerous than he looks, and I, like I said, owe him a favor,” this time in Italian, he’s practically chirping.

(Colonello’s concern is touching, but he is a war veteran and far more of a monster than Kawahira ever could be.Kawahira, Checkerface, whatever his birth name is — he is no match for Skull.

And if Kawahira comes after Kisuke, Kisuke will _break_ him.)

“Apologize to Luce for me, will you?” chirps Skull, still speaking Italian. “Tell her it’s really, _really_ important!I don’t break promises,” he adds a comical shudder “Besides, Urahara might threaten to cut up my kidneys and make them into soup if I forget to help him out again!He’s like a scarier version of Reborn-sempai, so I have to do what he says until I don’t owe him anymore.”

(He can feel Kisuke’s laughter, suppressed through the bond.)

Colonello can’t quite hide the derision “This guy?He dresses like some old-fashioned Japanese hobo.”

(Kisuke’s amusement is suddenly replaced with irritation.

At least he’s not broadcasting it.

Shuuhei can feel it, and Benihime’s bloodlust, and decides it’s about time for him to extricate them both.)

“Appearances can be deceiving, Colonello, you know that,” he chirps “Besides, don’t you have a gift to buy for Lal?” Colonello pales a little and nods. “I’ll see you later, sempai!Tell the others I say hi!” He switches back to Japanese “So, breakfast?”

Kisuke glances at him with amusement and irritation “Maa, of course.I know a lovely little cafe around here that would be happy to serve us.”

(Kisuke’s feathers are ruffled.That is _not_ good — mostly for Colonello.But if Kisuke shows his hand early they’re in trouble.

It’s not Colonello’s fault he’s an idiot and it’s not Colonello’s fault Skull was missing most of his memories, and had just enough presence of mind to keep his own true skills hidden beneath a mask.

No one ever suspects an idiot.Kisuke’s fledgling bond and Sky instincts won’t see that, though.

He sends Kisuke a burst of warmth, half-expecting his Sky not to notice his troubled emotions, but Kisuke relaxes slightly as Skull nods.)

Colonello sighs, and says “Alright.I’ll let them know,” he hesitates, and Skull turns just in time to keep him from putting a hand on his shoulder.The future Rain Arcobaleno says, under his breath “Be careful, Skull.I know you think you’re immortal, but this is playing with fire.”

Shuuhei almost laughs.

This is too easy. 

He’s going to act like an idiot more often, for undercover operations.Being underestimated is just so much _fun._

“I know,” he says quietly, keeping to Italian. “But to be honest, Urahara scares me much more than Reborn-sempai.Go home, senpai — and give Luce my apology.Good luck,” he adds, and Colonello gives him a jaunty wave, nodding.

The two of them part ways as Skull follows Kisuke left out of the hotel, with Colonello going right.Shuuhei knows that his Sky heard everything, but he also knows that bringing it up right now isn’t a good idea.He needs to get somewhere where they have no camera-flies or suspicion of surveillance, and he’s not stupid enough to think Fēng doesn’t have contacts here if no one else does.

“Cafe?” Kisuke points to a small, mom and pop cafe and Shuuhei smiles, nodding.He adds at a murmur “What was that about?”

“I had amnesia and I’m new to the underground.For all he knows I still need the help, so he’s trying to look out for me,” Shuuhei murmurs back, not quite letting Skull’s cheery mask slip away. 

(His smile might not be entirely genuine, but it’s better than getting too much attention for it.Gods, even his bike is still here.

Reiou, he’s missed that bike, even if it’s not sentient.

Kazeshini chuckles in the back of his mind and Sombra smiles.

He is home.Bike or no.The bike is just one more reminder of the fact that he hasn’t had to _give it all away_ , as he did some **twenty years/** _fifty years_ ago.)

They walk in and are immediately shown to a small table near the back; the owner recognizes Kisuke and waves him over.Kisuke orders them a pot of oolong at the counter, and Skull orders them a few pastries — he hasn’t eaten _anything_ since he arrived and he’s starving.He’ll be okay for awhile yet, with the ambient _reiatsu_ , but it’s better not to let Sombra get too hungry.

They sit in silence for a moment, and then Kisuke asks, amused “So, you’re more afraid of me than you are your comrade?”

(There’s a little hurt mixed in with that amusement.That hurts.)

Skull chuckles “Of course I am.You’re a lot stronger than Reborn is,” he says, “and you’re a lot easier to rile up.I’m not afraid of _you_ ; I’m afraid of the repercussions of you curb-stomping him this early in the timeline.I _am_ sorry about Colonello — he worries.He still sees me as that poor amnesiac kid I thought I was two years ago, when we first got tapped.”

(He can feel Kisuke’s irritation and hurt slipping into amusement, and Kazeshini pulses out a reassuring wave.His Sky is _possessive_ — he can feel the Violet/Cloud reaching for him, asking for assurance — and he gives it.His own Sky Aspect is small, but comparatively he’d probably still be considered a potential Sky by Vongola’s estimates. 

It’s more than big enough for Kisuke to ask for it, if he needs it.

And he definitely needs it now.

Shuuhei feels Kisuke relax after their pot of tea arrives and he politely pours them both a drink.He’s going to have to get used to having a very possessive and somewhat volatile Sky.)

“Amnesiac?” Kisuke asks, and Shuuhei hesitates.

Of course he’d pick the most embarrassing question of the lot to ask first.It’s Kisuke.He doesn’t know how not to pry.And he does owe Kisuke answers, now that they’re not being watched.

(He doesn’t want to get into it if he doesn’t have to.It’s embarrassing at best and at worst it will mean Kisuke targets most of the Arcobaleno for things they haven’t done yet.A part of his instincts know that if Kawahira is on the wrong side in the upcoming war, they will definitely lose, as much as he hates the other.

A part of him doesn’t, really. **Can’t.** Not after coming across him crying over the gravestone of a being who was clearly his Sky; not after feeling the emptiness of his Flames when compared to Viper after they found Xanxus.Shuuhei might hate what he did, but he pities the immortal far more than he hates him.)

Kisuke waves his fingers, and Shuuhei feels the _bakudou_ settle into place around them.He takes a deep breath, and lets it out.

**_He won’t think less of you for what happened, you know._ **

_I know.I don’t want to make a big deal of it, though.I don’t need him ripping Kawahira’s head off for me._

_Then reassure him,_ chirps Kaze, and he manages a nod inwards. _Besides, if he does, one less enemy for us!_

_That is_ **_not_ ** _the point of this conversation, Kaze._

Kisuke’s worried about him.It’s…nice.It reminds him of a good _five years_ ago.

Of better times, of when they were all together and Kisuke was his General and still _is_ but his Sky is so much more than that — blood and steel and fire in his smile doesn’t mean he’s _not_ a good Sky, and he’s concerned.

(He can’t think about that.He can’t think about them together.If he does, he’ll lose his mind.

He reaches for their bond instead and holds to it as tightly as he can as the memories of his first days as Skull de Mort rise into his mind, quickly destroying the last camera-fly in the entryway with a burst of _reiatsu_.)

“I was assigned a mission by Tousen Kaname, in the World of the Living, three years ago by this timeline’s reckoning,” Shuuhei says, stretching a little in his seat and warming his hands around the cup of hot tea. “He wanted me to get rid of the Tri-Ni-Sette system.According to the mission briefing, it’s become time to retire the system — I think now he was just trying to get me out of the way, because he couldn’t influence me.In the other,” he frowns, considering what had happened, “timeline I’m from — Reiou, this is confusing — he didn’t pick me, but someone else; I think someone from Division Eleven, but I’m not sure who.I think he picked me as _fukutaichou_ because he figured out he _could_ convince me into rejecting Kazeshini and with it, any Violet aspect behaviors he didn’t like.At least, until I learned better under you.You remember I was afraid of Kaze at first?” Kisuke nods. “It took me fifty or more years to fix what he did to me. _Bastardo._ Kaname died far too quickly for my tastes.”

He let out a quiet, infuriated breath.Tousen had cost them so much in both timelines that he’d have no issue with killing the man — oh, he might have _once_ loved his captain, but everything about Tousen Kaname was a lie, for all he espoused truth and justice.Tousen Kaname was a pretender, playing at a job he never seriously intended to keep, and Shuuhei would _enjoy_ killing him. 

(Sombra stirs with agreement, and Kazeshini’s ripple is so obvious he has to quiet her before she gets them noticed, either by the Vindice or any other locals.)

(What Tousen had done to him — to all of them — was inexcusable. _Aizen_ had blocked them from him in one timeline, and Kawahira in the other.

Everyone wanted him stripped from his soul.He suspects from his memories of the assignment that Tousen needed a weaker lieutenant, so when he refused to fear Kazeshini, when his blade convinced him that she _wasn’t_ going to hurt him, and that she was a natural extension of his soul, he was sent away to die.

He refused to fear her because he trusted her.That trust was a threat, and they had to be rid of him.

**And then he’d found he couldn’t die, no matter what was done to him.Nothing can kill him anymore.**

That thought isn’t quite his, but — it’s true.He’s pretty sure the Violet/Red mix will even keep him from dying if his soul-core is destroyed.

Now that he knows, he’s going to use that against his enemies.)

Kisuke’s eyes shine with steel “You were manipulated.I remember you telling me that.”

Shuuhei nods “Yes.I was.” He stops as the waiter comes over, gives them the platter of sweets, and doesn’t speak again until the man’s outside the reach of the _bakudou_. “I was — originally — sent to either kill or negotiate with Kawahira.I believe the orders were changed to ‘kill’ on Aizen’s instruction, or because Tousen assumed I was strong enough to handle the mission.Regardless, I was supposed to either remove the threat, or I’d be removed myself.In retrospect, I think they expected him to kill me, since I was young and stupid enough, by their standards.And he would have if I were really just a Crimson.Fēng’s stronger than I am, by a small margin — well, he was.I don’t think he still is.Not after Las Noches.”

Kisuke’s expression sets “And you’re more than that.How long have you hidden that?” he asks, deceptively calm.

(His Flames are not calm.They are very active, with a thread of Hellfire and fury, a helpless fury that Shuuhei knows all too well.He felt it himself when Ichigo was given a ‘permanent leave of absence’ after subduing Aizen, only for the C46 to order his reinstatement when war broke out again less than a year later.

He won’t let that happen again.

He wraps his own Flames around the bond, not so much for comfort but for reassurance.

It didn’t work.He’s still here; they both are, and they have a chance to stop things from ever getting that bad again.)

“I don’t act like a Violet should,” Shuuhei says, smiling. “You know that.I’m what’s known as an Invert — I don’t have a territory that’s as visible as, say, Kuchiki Byakuya’s.He’s a Violet, very trained and controlled, and his territory is obviously the Seireitei and the Sixth Division.Violets can share territory,” Kisuke shares a smirk with him at this. “But I…even as a child, I wasn’t nearly as violent as most Violets.I think I know why, now, but I think they didn’t realize what the difference is and since I _act_ like a Crimson, I was classified as such.Violence is the hallmark of the Violet aspect — violence and _challenge_ for territory, and I was consciously aware there were too many people around for me to risk myself and I _didn’t_ want to die young.And when I was gentle, but angry, they didn’t look at me twice, because they assumed my temper was the result of a lack of a strong, leading Orange in my life.I was never tested for Aspects at the Academy.I showed behavior in accordance with the Crimson Aspect, so after it showed up, I was set aside and no one double-checked.It worked, for a time — I do have a few fond memories of my time in the Ninth, mainly writing — but I never quite fit in there.It was like oil sliding over water, to my Flames; nothing seemed to _work_.Tousen just assumed I needed more specialized _training_ , but in doing so he revealed his Orange is much weaker than his Indigo Aspect, too weak to hold me.That’s where the Violet came in — I could never accept someone so…” he trails off, trying to find the right words.

Kisuke fills in the silence “Someone so shallow and false.I think that’s why he had to try to break you — and when it didn’t work this time, he didn’t know what to do with you anymore.”

(Kisuke’s fury is not quieting and Benihime is starting to leak a little bit of bloodlust into the air; he can smell it in the sulfur and see it in the Hellfire burning in his eyes.Shuuhei tries not to smile wider at this; this expression that _his Sky_ is here, and there is blood and knives and fury in his proud smile.

Shuuhei is _his_.Just as he is Shuuhei’s. 

And he knows that Kisuke’s just vowed to _break_ Tousen Kaname, deep within his soul.

Shuuhei will enjoy taking everything the other has and breaking it into tiny little pieces.It’s no less than he deserves, after what he’s done.)

“I was too independent to bond with him.Naturally, he assumed I just had to be shown his authority until I did, but that would be like breaking down a wall of diamond with your face,” Shuuhei shrugs, smirking, as Sombra and Kazeshini both laugh. “You know how that turned out.When I refused to break, to bend, or to bow to him, he either tried to ensnare me with Mist, or he sent me away to become Skull de Mort.That’s the divergence point in my memories — in one timeline, he used Indigo and ensnared me and in the other, I was forced to stand up for myself and sent away.Kawahira is much stronger than I should be at this point in time — strong enough to stand up to any normal lieutenant-ranked Shinigami — so I think it was actually a suicide mission.But Kawahira, in his _infinite_ wisdom, saw what they couldn’t.They saw a Crimson, a Storm; someone who needed to be sent away or broken to heel.He saw a predator.An Inverted Violet, one whose Flame purity trumps that of his prime candidate Lal Mirch — she becomes a broken Arcobaleno in both futures — and instead of speaking to me first, he decided to use me.Unfortunately for him, he made the mistake of assuming Storm was my secondary, and not that I have dual primaries, since that combination of Flames rarely makes it to adulthood.”

Kisuke’s teeth grit, hard, and the flash of Hellfire in his eyes is unmistakable. “They both underestimated you,” he says, taking a sip of the tea. “How long?”

Shuuhei chuckles, but there’s almost no mirth in it “Even you underestimated me when you first met me, Kisuke.And you know why — I was too anxious.Too worried about what it meant to have blade and steel and wind in my soul but without the desire to spill blood you have.It’s not a bad thing — you’re bloodthirsty, and it’s part of you — but I wasn’t ready to be, and I wasn’t nearly as clever as you were.I was never taught how to act, just forced into different areas and different molds until I figured out what _really_ drove me, but because so many people classified me as one or the other, and wrote me off either as an idiot or a rookie, I was ignored.Unnoticed and set aside.Until Ichigo realized I was learning faster than most shinigami my age, I was considered an idiot, someone afraid of his own soul.I found that my behavior wasn’t — quite right, and I thought there was something wrong with _me,_ not the teachings.Ichigo took one look at me, dragged me aside, and scolded me until I finally agreed to sit down and talk with Kaze.Once we’d made peace…” he spread his hands with a grin. “You remember that spar.”

Kisuke nods, thoughtful, and Shuuhei takes a sip of his tea, quietly purifying the mild toxins out of both the tea and the pastries with a whisper of Crimson Flames.His General had taken some time to see his own potential, but he’d at least been willing to take a second look, unlike most of the Gotei 13.He’d bonded with Ichigo first, but Kisuke second when the man had taken one look at his zanpakutou, at the fire and blood in his soul and known how to help him bank it and learn from it.The other takes a pastry, biting into it thoughtfully, and Shuuhei smiles, picking up one of his own.

(He is not fool enough to pretend he wasn’t hurt by Kisuke’s initial dismissal, but Kisuke’s focus had been on the war effort first and foremost.It was only when he’d realized just what had been _done_ to Shuuhei that he took a much closer look at him, and worked with Ichigo and Shinji to fix what was wrong with him.

Though admittedly most of it had been Ichigo.Ichigo and his _pure_ stubbornness to keep him from sealing off and ignoring part of his own _soul_.

Kazeshini preens as they remember the sheer _amount_ of attention Ichigo paid them.

Having an opponent you couldn’t permanently kill, no matter how hard you tried, had done wonders for his improvement.Forcing improvement, forcing him to continue pushing, to grasp at what made him _human_ and not simply a shinigami, had been the key to unlocking his power.

He knows Kisuke knows that now, but most shinigami — even the Vizards and Arrancar — forgot they were human, once upon a time.Ichigo started off as human, and he remembered every last bit of it, and the changes and the way to _move_ , in a way Kisuke almost did until Ichigo came crashing into their lives.

He made them remember how to be human, _changeable_ , and it’s a wonderful feeling.)

“I do.And I regret that I didn’t take the time to listen to Ichigo the first time,” Kisuke says, his Flames a silent apology with an undertone of grief — over Ichigo and everyone else who had died for them. “You are an anomaly, just as he w-will be,” he stammers “And I didn’t look twice.”

“How could you have known?” Shuuhei counters. “Even _I_ forgot to look closely at me and until today you didn’t know what I was like as a little brat.I had no way of knowing; how could you?You heard Yhwach — I’m an anomaly, like you are,” he reaches over and squeezes Kisuke’s free hand, and his Sky squeezes back.

(The pulse of his Flames are warming, even with the lick of Hellfire.Shuuhei knows there is something in his own soul, something stronger and beyond that which he had held before he came to the Rukongai, but he doesn’t know what it is.

He suspects it has to do with his time alive, but he won’t bring it up until Kisuke’s ready to talk about it.He has no memory prior to waking in the Rukongai, which is unusual for souls with incredibly high levels of reiatsu, as his is. 

**_You will remember when you need to,_ **Sombra whispers. **_Until then, let them come to you._**

_What?_

_You’re not wrong, Shuu, but neither is Sombra.They’re there.But you aren’t ready for those yet,_ confirms Kazeshini. _Right now, that’s not worth the trouble. It will only hurt._

He has the vaguest sense of a shadowy flicker against his mind, but nothing happens.Kisuke notices it, and looks at him in concern, Flames forming a fresh pattern.)

“Did you bring anything with you, perhaps along for the ride?” Kisuke asks, and Shuuhei knows what he’s asking.

“I’m not certain.There’s…” he frowns, because trying to describe it makes his mind ache, giving him a sense of — screeching, but not in pain. “I can’t describe it.It…there’s something, but I can’t — I can’t quite…I can’t reach it.Thinking about it — it’s — I can’t…”

He trails off, unable to describe what he feels.

Kisuke nods “Don’t worry about it, then.Keep an eye on it and we’ll see if it develops into anything.I would know if you were a threat, and the bond isn’t threatened.So — how long do we have?”

“I will,” Shuuhei says, deciding to keep the whole ‘living memories’ thing to himself for now. “It’s 1977.We have until 2005.There are roughly thirty years I need to spend working on the Arcobaleno, if they are to survive this time.And all of them need to live, including Lal, so I will have to leave for the Trials.”

“Explain?” Kisuke asks, taking another bite of pastry.

“Lal Mirch was supposed to be the Cloud Arcobaleno.She isn’t nearly strong enough, but strong Clouds — Violets — tend to die before they reach adulthood,” Shuuhei explains, “We don’t fit into the modern world.Not in the same way the rest of the Elements do.Clouds…are incredibly violent.Traditional ones tend to get killed off before adulthood because they pick the wrong fight, or because they’re locked up in insane asylums.Violets tend to ascend into the Eleventh or to Captain rank in the Gotei; they don’t accept anything other than the best.We, excuse me.”

“Ah,” Kisuke nods “So he was desperate, I take it?”

“Yes,” Shuuhei confirms “More than, as Lal’s primarily a Rain, like Colonello, who he’d tapped as the potential Rain before I came along.They’re of similar Flame strength, but Colonello’s secondary is Sun, which means he’s more likely to survive to the end of the Curse, rather than die within twenty years.Finding the world’s Seven Strongest is an incredibly difficult task.So when a Violet turned up on his doorstep, intending to negotiate with him, in the uniform of the people who’d destroyed his…” Shuuhei shrugs, hiding a wince as Kazeshini brings up the memories for him. “I think the temptation was too great for him to resist.He took one look at me and knew he needed me and he’d be damned if he let me get away, no matter what it did to me.So he knocked me out — caught me off-guard in the middle of a fight; I _did_ try to fight him off — and sealed my soul from me, leaving me foundering on Mist-streaked Cloud with a hint of Storm.I was _furious_ , and I was _young_ -looking, in a gigai I think you recall providing for me.”

(Kisuke’s Hellfire is burning hot inside of him, but it’s very carefully wrapped in Sky and Cloud.A part of him is screaming with fury, but only his eyes give him away, and those are fixed on his mug. 

Shuuhei curls into the feeling a little, unable to help himself.His soul is aching from the loss of two thirds of what makes it whole, but within the shields of his Sky, he feels a bit closer to whole.)

Kisuke nods, expression deceptively calm “Yes, though I had to adjust it when you explained you were going to meet with the Arcobaleno Administrator. Fury?” he smiles, the expression unsettling in a way that makes Kazeshini trill, soaring higher in Harmony.

“Yes.I was an amnesiac, I had no idea who I was, and everyone was set on treating me like a little tiny baby who could do very little for himself,” Shuuhei says, relief flooding over him at the understanding in Kisuke’s eyes. “Luce — the Sky, though with a secondary Mist — tried to make me feel at home, and the others tried their best, but I was…a part of me was _angry_ , in a way they couldn’t understand.But they looked at me, and they forgot, because they knew more than me and I wasn’t about to risk getting them to kill me off.I wasn’t an idiot — I just thought it was better to ask questions than come off as dangerous, so I was regarded as the weakest.Surviving was my only chance at getting back at the asshole who’d chained my soul.And they did try to help me — even Reborn — but they all bought into the act eventually; back when I realized I had no choice but to do this if I wanted a way out.I…I always meant to come find you, but I was too embroiled in fixing their problems and I know for a _fact_ Kawahira kidnapped me three times to keep me from finding you to fix the problems he’d caused me.The constant memory wipes sure as fuck didn’t help,” he snorts, “But the bastard didn’t pay nearly as much attention to the Gesso Famiglia, and consequently, got himself killed by Byakuran of the Gesso, who held the Mare Rings — they let you slip between different timelines.I think he knew how dangerous I was; he certainly taunted me about it enough times for me to guess.But he couldn’t predict me.None of them could, not even…not even Yuni.She was the Sky Arcobaleno when I died.”

(Kisuke’s fury is so carefully controlled that if not for a link to the other’s soul, he wouldn’t feel it at all.But it’s there, and it’s rattling the chains that still hold to Kisuke’s soul after multiple incarnations beyond Hell. 

And it’s vindicating and soothing to Shuuhei’s own anger, to Sombra’s quiet cold fury and to Kazeshini’s desire for bloody vengeance.They both want to kill Byakuran before he even has a chance at being born, and he’s honestly almost in agreement with them.Almost.

He won’t let it get that bad again.Regardless of the consequences.)

“Sky?I’m confused,” Kisuke frowns “What do you mean?”

“The Skies die much younger than the others.A Sky has to be found roughly every ten to twenty years, if not thirty,” Shuuhei explains. “I’m an anomaly — I lasted a lot longer than anyone else ever did.Skies burn themselves out very young, because their Flames hold everything together.Luce had a daughter with Reborn, Aria, and then Aria had a daughter, Yuni, who was the Giglio Nero boss and a _child_ in that broken future,” he spits, “A _child_ , and Byakuran took her, and he _used_ her.I was the last Arcobaleno standing, at that point in time — and I’d worked out how to use Night Flames.Hollow flames, really,” he snorts again “so I broke the Curse on my own.I wasn’t supposed to be able to do that.He tracked me down.” His soul sings, “And I got my zanpakutou back in time to kill him and every last one of his minions.He made a mistake, and he backed me into a corner, and I went off like a Flame bomb with a catastrophic combination of Cloud, Night, and Storm Flames.Destroying the Mare Sky Ring was enough to send that version of me blasting back in time — though I think Tsuna’s fight with him also helped undo the timeline, he’d sent a Mist clone of himself to that fight — and I think as a result, I collided with another version of me.Well.” He frowns “I think there’re two Shuuheis whose memories I have, General.One of the wars we fought together, and one of the war against the Gesso.I’m willing to share all of them, if you want, but we’d need a memory viewer of some kind to use them all effectively.”

Kisuke gives him a curious look, but he doesn’t retreat from the bond “Oh…well, that does make sense.You’re much stronger and more settled than I was expecting.How is it that…Tsuna, was it?Was able to fight him?”

Shuuhei shrugs “I’m not sure.The Bovino Famiglia are renowned for being crazy inventors, like you, since their first generation Lightning — Green — took up with Giotto, the first Vongola boss.They invented something called the Ten-Years-Later Bazooka, which allows you to jump between past and future timelines for aa period of five minutes.At least, until Byakuran went and fucked the timeline up beyond all reason.I _think_ I was just supposed to wake up in 2005, or that version of me, with my memories of the future.I didn’t,” he spreads his hands with a smile “and I’m grateful for it, because we have more information this way.I also think my Flames…combined with each other,” he hesitates, but who else can he trust but his General?

“What does that mean?” Kisuke’s now looking at him like he did when Shuuhei first showed just how much of an anomaly he is, in their once-future.

(Reiou, this is confusing.At least he doesn’t have to sort his memories out.Kazeshini and Sombra did that for him.

It’s still weird to think of himself in two places in two different timelines, though.)

“I didn’t have these before,” Shuuhei says, shifting so the waiter can’t see him, and extending a hand.

He calls on his Day Flames, the antithesis to Flames of Night, focusing on the opposing force, and his hand lights up with brilliant white fire not dissimilar to the brilliance of the Getsuga Tenshou’s edge, before Mugetsu.Kaze and Sombra each sing respectively, the chilly wind combining with the hunting cry of a bird of prey, and the effort is considerable but he still _manages_ to call on them.It’s hard, though, and after a moment he has to let them go before he hurts his gigai.

_Body.It’s a body now._

(They aren’t complete, not really, but they’re brilliant white and he can tell there’s something different about them to any other Aspect.He hopes Kisuke has an idea of what these are or — if they can get him on their side — the Administrator. 

He’s not holding out hope, though.)

Kisuke looks up at him in surprise, “Those are not Flames.”

“They’re the antithesis to Night Flames,” Shuuhei says, shaking his head. “I don’t know what they mean, but they _are_ Flames of a kind.They’re…hard to call on, though.I…” he stops, frowning, because they feel familiar. “I’ve felt them before.I don’t know when, or where.”

Kisuke takes another sip of his tea and Shuuhei belatedly remembers he’s supposed to be eating.He quickly starts in on his pastry again, finishing two of them as Kisuke thinks.He doesn’t know what to think of the white fire, or what it means.It’s not Hell-fire, and it’s not the Quincy powers, but he doesn’t know _what_ it is other than powerful. 

Powerful and difficult to use.

( _It is yours, but it is also theirs._

 _What does_ _that_ _mean, Kaze?_ Shuuhei asks, looking inward into her brilliant white eyes. _What do you mean?_

 _Honestly?I’ve got nothing,_ she admits, voice rattling with the chains of his _bankai_. _I just know it’s theirs, too._

_Sky?_

**_No.Not Sky,_** corrects Sombra, his voice heavy and trilling. **_It feels familiar, but I can’t tell you from where.It’s yours, though._**

 _Damn.We’ll have to do some tests, then,_ thinks Shuuhei.

**_Just keep it from Aizen and Yhwach.I think it might be why they can’t see us._ **

_Agreed.I think he’s right, but I don’t know why.Kisuke might have it._

_That would help, but I doubt it._ )

Kisuke clears his throat and Shuuhei looks up “Sorry.They,” he taps the side of his head, “Had some ideas about what they are.Sombra thinks it’s why our enemies can’t see me, no matter how they try.”

“Interesting,” Kisuke says, frowning, but his curiosity is almost tangible. “Do you want to test it?”

As much as he wants to, he knows they need their secret weapon against their enemies.If they can figure out some way to keep them from being _seen_ , or from Kisuke’s research being compromised, he will, but he doesn’t know for sure.

“I’m not sure how wise that is,” Shuuhei says, “with the camera-flies around.I…would like to see if you can figure out if your soul has some, though.It…Kaze said “it is yours, but also theirs,” whatever that means.”

Kisuke nods, “I’ll look into it.It might be something Shinigami were never meant to feel or wield.”

(They share a thought, then, through the bond.The only reason they’re even aware of this is that it echoes between them.

 _Maybe this is Ichigo’s true gift.And that’s why friends flocked to him like moths to a flame._ )

The shocked expression on Kisuke’s face gives way to a delighted smile “That’s interesting!I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Neither did I,” it’s a heady feeling, sharing headspace with his General, though it’s just an echo.

(The sheer power of something like that…Aizen and Yhwach would _kill_ for the ability to read their allies’ minds. 

He’s not sure if it’s due to the spontaneity of the bond or something else.

Kisuke’s smile falters, and Shuuhei looks up, giving him a cheeky smile.)

“You gonna teach me some science this way, shishou?” he teases, and Kisuke makes a delighted sound, knocking against Shuuhei’s hand with the back of his own, fingers splayed in an Onmi handsign that, roughly translated, means _asshole_. Shuuhei relaxes, smiling “This is brilliant.You might have to get used to being on the same wavelength as me — and maybe the others — more.Think you can handle it?”

“ _Handle_ it?” shoots back Kisuke, taking another bite of pastry. “I think I can.It’s…it’s been a long time since…” his hand twitches towards his chest, and Shuuhei understands.

(How can he not?Kisuke’s been alone in his soul, in the peculiarity of his _incredibly_ possessive bonds, for such a long time — alone like Skull was, alone like Shuuhei was as a child — that he’s forgotten how this feels.This is a soul bond, but it’s more than that, because his Hellfire doesn’t hurt Shuuhei, not in the way it can and will his other Elements. 

Though he has the feeling that’s more due to lack of trust on their part than anything Kisuke’s done wrong.His soul is scarred, but not broken.

Losing Ichigo and Shinji had scarred his Sky almost irreversibly, especially when paired with losing Yoruichi, Tessai, and the others.He won’t, he _can’t_ , let that happen again — Shuuhei won’t survive it sane, and Kisuke won’t survive it.

He won’t let it happen again.

From the look on Kisuke’s face, he understands that too.)

“It might make any…feelings you have a little complicated,” Kisuke says, his smile hesitant. “Romantic, I mean.If we share this much.”

(He already knows where Kisuke’s affections lie.He has no intention of messing that up for his Sky.Even if it confuses his own, he won’t get in the way.

Not this time, and not any time, ever again.)

Shuuhei shrugs, uncaring. “I’m not sure that’s even in the cards for me, at this point.I’ve got to figure out what’s going on with me first.And besides, this link is pretty fresh; once it’s calmed down a bit, we’ll probably be able to stay out of each other’s heads if we try.I don’t mind thinking in tandem with you for awhile.From what I remember, Flame bonds tend to be the most intense for the first month.Unless you plan on sleeping around outside what I remember, I think we’ll be okay.”

“Nor I, and no, I don’t,” Kisuke says, but he feels a little — unsettled by the prospect. “It’s useful, at least.You’ll be able to catch up with me.”

“I’m sure I can learn to control the link,” offers Shuuhei, because he can’t help himself. “I don’t know many Flame users we can trust, but at least one of the Arcobaleno — post-curse, obviously — would be willing to help us with control and you might get a true Crimson out of it.Fēng is nothing like Reborn, and has always treated me kindly.He won’t be averse to helping us.Clouds also tend to be — more possessive, and closer to their Skies than any other.It’s possible, even likely that our Violet Aspects are feeding on each other.I’ll even let you experiment with it later, if you like?”

(Kisuke feels a bit better, more relaxed at that and his Flames stop seeping into the air around him.It’s a good thing, for all it’s a bit painful — Kisuke’s not used to sharing this much, Shuuhei knows that, but he isn’t either.They’ll work it out.

And if worst comes to worst, Fēng’s family has a very long tradition of Flame and chi-bonding and they will be able to help them figure out what Soul Society doesn’t know.He’d rather avoid the Hibari clan’s attention for as long as possible, but it will at least keep them out of Karakura Town if the _yakuza_ get a little too familiar with Kisuke’s shop.)

“I’d—I would like that,” Kisuke smoothes his ruffled Flames and Shuuhei’s with a few breaths. “Thank you.I…I know this isn’t — going to be easy.I’m just…” he’s not used to this.

“I’m not used to it either.Spontaneous bonds are very rare,” Shuuhei offers. “If nothing else it means we’re a lot more similar than I thought we were.”

(That sends a shiver of discomfort and curiosity through his Sky, but Shuuhei doesn’t dwell on it.)

“I’ve got my _bankai_ and two mask releases, right now,” Shuuhei switches tactics, because the subject is distressing Kisuke and that’s _wrong_. “Plus the Flames.I’ll teach you how to use Sky in combat — they’re the most destructive, even if they seem like just anchor Flames — and Cloud, too, if you want.Should keep you from getting prematurely killed, because Cloud can be used to heal yourself.But first we need a plan for the Trials, now that you know what else we’re up against.”

Kisuke finishes his pastry and nods “We do.What can you tell me of them?”

Shuuhei, Kazeshini, and Sombra de la Luna all smile as one, the smile echoing through his soul and the feel of chains wrapping back around Shuuhei’s skin.He may not be his General, but he has a plan, and Kisuke’s smart enough to figure it out. 

(The grin he shares with his Sky sings with Benihime and Hell all at once.

The world has no idea what’s coming.

That’s just fine with him.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always saw Kawahira as somewhat broken, tbh. He lost everything to the Arcobaleno curse. Why then should he try to be kind to others? He's in Discord -- something I will go into in later chapters.
> 
> Also, yes, the screechy-noise will get discussed. Right now Skull/Shuuhei can't access that because it's too soon. Trust me when I say I am seeding that in there from the start, and I know what it is.
> 
> Flame Dictionary: 
> 
> Anomalies -- catch-all term for Flames that don't fit into one or another category. Hellfire Sky Flames are among these; so are Night Flames and Binary Primary Flames. Kisuke and Shuuhei are both Anomalies, as is Ichigo, which is why they have weird Flames and Flame powers.
> 
> Hellfire Flames -- Kisuke is ex-togabito, which means hell-bound soul, so his Flames all carry a bit of this edge. That's also where the chains come from.
> 
> Night Flames: Night Flames are the black flames used by the Vindice. They are formed out of determination, spite, and will, according to the wiki. Shuuhei has access to them for a very good reason.
> 
> Day Flames: As far as Shuuhei is aware, these are the opposite of Night Flames.
> 
> Side note: Soul Society sees Flame powers differently than the mafia. That will come into play in later chapters, because kidou and bakudou are all interconnected but the idea of defining your position with Flames is different.
> 
> Chi is another thing entirely from Flames, and Feng is skilled with both, canonically. He is also a Hibari though I forget the exact family tree. I just know he's related to Hibari Kyouya.

**Author's Note:**

> This absolutely will not be updating regularly. I have no idea what I'm doing, but this is a separate story and Skull's the one DRIVING. I have a few other chapters, but they're loosely based on what I understand made the Arcobaleno and as such this can be considered a Complete AU. 
> 
> Night Flames being accessible to Hollows just made sense when I wrote it. They're terrifying, and so are the Vindice. There will be an explanation.
> 
> Kawahira made a HUGE mistake when he picked the Cloud Arcobaleno, *evil chuckle* he just hasn't realized it yet.
> 
> It's 1971, so yes, Timoteo is already the head of the Vongola, Vongola Nonno. I realize this will take awhile, but Daniella is more interesting to write, and more likely to be affected by the changes made by Skull's presence in the timeline than Timoteo. This is largely because I H/c that Daniella di Vongola is actually a stronger Sky with a Mist Secondary, and keeps an eye out for weird things that MIGHT affect Vongola's future happening. Naturally, Timoteo thinks his mother is just paranoid and believes in supernatural phenomena that he doesn't.
> 
> I also h/c that between a Sky's elements are pairbond-type partnership bonds. They're thin, and hard to recognize, but the Arcobaleno would absolutely recognize them. I don't know what Skull's history with the World's Strongest actually is but let's say they've worked together for awhile. And Colonello is Kawahira's Backup Rain in case Lal turns out not to be strong enough, because he's got a twisted sense of humor.


End file.
